Kingdom Hearts II: Proof of Existence
by Marsuvees
Summary: The Epic of Kingdom Hearts continues with the reawkening of the Keyblade Master. How far will he have to go to find his lost friends? and what exactly are beings of nothing willing to do to reclaim their lost hearts? Let Nothing Collide... -Old Friends-
1. Opening

_Greetings, all! I return after a summer of collecting and editing and forming and thinking and deleting and reforming to present the novelization of Kingdom Hearts II!_

_Now, just as before, this story is not the game transcribed. That wouldn't work on paper. This is Kingdom Hearts II, touched up, polished, added to, and removed. It flows better, it works better, it's just an all-around improved story, to the best of my little ability._

_(For the enjoyment of all, I will tell you one of the things I -have- removed: ATLANTICA! You can thank me in advance ;) )_

_Lastly, before we jump in, allow me to take this moment to remind you that this novelization(and my previous one of KH1—**which you should ****absolutely ****read before touching this one**-) is slowly creating a mythos of Kingdom Hearts, totally devoid of any game/info released after re:Chain of Memories(except for, perhaps, 358/2 Days). This series will have its own KH3, and its own prologue story(based on what little knowledge we had, back when Birth By Sleep was only the secret trailer at the end of KH2, and a glimmer in Nomura's eye)_

_So, as always, settle down with your favorite beverage of choice(hot chocolate always works well) in the welcoming embrace of a ridiculously comfy chair, and enjoy the story of Kingdom Hearts II._

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><p><em><strong>Chapter I: Prologue<br>**__~A scattered dream that's like a far off memory~  
><em>_~A far off memory that's like a scattered dream.~  
><em>_I want to line the pieces up...  
><em>_yours  
><em>_and  
><em>_mine.  
>~<em>

Before, it had begun with a young boy, floating in darkness. Now, it began with a young girl on a lonesome beach.

All alone, she sat, fiddling with a small charm, awash in the glowing sunset. The ocean, huge and calm, stretched out before her. Unnoticed, the rolling tide crept in and swept a lone shell back out to sea.

(or had it always been there?)

Suddenly, the girl is no longer alone, and the beach is no longer a beach. It is instead a bent and curved tree, several star-shaped fruit hanging from its tropical branches. The girl is joined by two boys, one spikey-haired brunette(the bright boy), and one silver-haired boy with mint eyes(the dark boy).  
>The Ocean, however, was still there.<p>

As the three sat and watched the sunset, the girl and the dark boy dissolved into wisps of sand, and the bright boy was left alone on the tree. With one mighty leap, the bright boy jumped, leaving his dissolving island behind, and landed on hard, dark-blue stone. Another world. Two companions, a knightly dog and a wizarding duck, now stood at his flanks.

Before him, a grand castle stretched high into the clouds. Between the castle and he twitched an army of small, black demons with glowing-hungry-yellow eyes.

With his two companions by his side, the bright boy took a long, Key-shaped sword in hand, and faced the hoard of monsters. As he fought through them, slashing them into a dark mist, the bright boy climbed higher and higher into the castle—until he reached the tallest room of the highest tower. There, he found the girl, limp, on the ground. He stumbled to her, tried to shake her awake.

_angels in flight_

The bright boy looked over his shoulder and saw the dark boy standing before a glowing machine. The dark boy turned, staring his opposite down, and reached out his arm for him, invitingly. Behind the dark boy, the mechanism became a giant wave, and behind the bright boy, the world became the beach again.  
>The dark boy's hand was still outstretched.<p>

Charging forward, the bright boy headed toward the wave, but instead met the dark boy's sword with his own, now back in the castle. As the bright boy sliced at the dark boy, the latter leapt away, his body dissolving around him, revealing the dark man underneath, all dripping shadows and drowning darkness and white teeth across a dark face.

The bright boy charged, slashing, and opened a great Door. Light poured through from it, covering the dark man and swallowing him whole. Through the Door, the bright boy saw the dark boy one more time. The dark boy, however, closed the door between them—ashamed of himself.

Although the darkness was gone, the girl was still asleep. So the bright boy took his sword in hand, and stabbed himself through. His heart lifted from his body, releasing the girl's own captive heart. Satisfied, the bright boy disappeared.

But the girl, not standing for either of their hearts to be separated, called the bright boy back from the darkness. But neither could stand for the dark boy's heart to be separated as well, so the bright boy left the girl back on the beach, and faded into the distance to find their dark friend.

_angels in flight_

The girl never left the beach, she never stopped waiting. The days turned to weeks, turned to months, turned to years, and the girl stayed on that beach and waited. She changed, she grew, she matured. But her two boys never returned.

Same girl, different story. A shadow of the girl sat in a white room, all alone. In her lap she held a sketchbook. She draws in it to pass the time. She draws to not forget. She draws to show that she isn't alone.

In her pictures, she draws a spiral, glass staircase. The bright boy and his companions were climbing it, casting demons back into the dark. White rooms on glass stairs, filled with demons. A man in a black, hooded cloak gazed down at the bright boy. Another man, cloaked in red from head to toe, glared from his single, uncovered, eye. Across the white room, a man in a black coat with a long scythe smiled maliciously.

The bright boy charged, the scythe man swung.

Elsewhere, the dark boy clashed with the dark man still inside him.

Both boys charged up the glass stairs, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending.

The shadow girl looked up just as the bright boy entered her lonely room(making it not so lonely anymore). Her sketchbook now showed the bright boy in a glass pod, with the petals of a flower decorating it.

Just as the bright boy stepped into the room, the pod encapsulated him and the shadow girl whispered.

_angels in flight_

The bright boy's eyes closed, and he fell and fell and fell and fell and fell. He fell across the never ending ocean to a small island. To the beach.

The shadow girl closed her sketchbook.

The bright boy lay asleep on the warm sand, the girl holding his right hand, the dark boy holding his left.

The boy fell again, then, through the sand—but it wasn't the boy. It was his shadow.

The shadow boy fell through darkness and water, coming awake on a circled, stain-glass platform, etched with the image of the bright boy.

"_What's left of me now?"_

_**Welcome to Nothing's Onslaught.  
><strong>__**Welcome to Kingdom Hearts II. **_

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><p><em>It feels good to be at this again. :D<br>See you in the reviews!_

_~Mars_


	2. Days of Summer

_Ah, chapter 2. It's fairly long here, so enjoy!_

_**Chapter II: Days of Summer  
><strong>__Summer afternoon; to me, those have always been the  
><em>_two most beautiful words in the English language.  
><em>_~Henry James_

_**The First Day**_:

"_Sora...?"_

_Islands. The beach? A red-haired girl looking down at him?_

"_Give me a break, Kai-_

_Glitch in, glitch out._

_Now, running. A boy. Silver hair. Racing? _

"_Giving up already?"_

_Number, glowing green against black. Flashing._

_Glitch in, glitch out._

"_If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?" _

_Evening, looking out from shore. It's a fuzzy picture. Just out of focus._

"_You understand nothing."_

_A brown cloak. A giant black monster._

"_So...ra..." _

_The redhead flies right towards him, through him-_

"AH!" Roxas snapped awake, feeling the blood ferociously course its way through his veins. He rubbed at the sleep still in his eyes, as he felt the remnants of the dream retreat back into his subconscious. Through his window, the rooftops of Twilight Town stretched out of view. In the distance, Roxas heard a train pass by—one of the many that were constantly criss-crossing town.

"Another dream about him..." Roxas mumbled to himself as he slowly pushed open the window, letting some of the crisp, almost fall, air in. The town bustled beneath him. The bright sun bathed the whole town in an orange light, capturing it in a perpetual evening. Roxas had been having the dreams about this "Sora" person for ages, it seemed. They'd come and go, but seemed to happen with some regularity—increasingly so recently. They weren't very clear, almost as if he was watching a damaged movie that kept fuzzing out into static. And after he was awake for long enough, the dreams just started to fade away into vague ideas.

Oh well, they were just dreams. Maybe he could write a book about them or something one day; they seemed, if he remembered right, to be fairly story-like. Roxas chuckled at the idea, as if he would have the patience to write a book. He'd probably give it up after the first day.

Grabbing the first clothes that he saw, some gray—Olette probably would've called it "beige" or something, he idly thought- and black jeans, along with a high-collared black jacket and another white jacket to wear over it, unzipped. Roxas threw his bedsheets up to the pillow and, satisfied, headed downstairs.

Changing as he walked, Roxas got to the stairs and took them two at a time. Hearing no one else in the house, he figured his parents must've been off to work early. As he slipped his white and black checkered wrist band on, Roxas grabbed a bagel and munched down on it. Just like most other summer days, he was headed out to meet with his friends, Hayner, Pence, and Olette, at their Usual Spot.

On his way out the door, Roxas noted that the calendar declared it was already August 31st. Summer was almost over. Roxas sighed and checked the clock out of the corner of his eye. Twelve thirty-five.

And he had also apparently spent a good chunk of that summer sleeping.

No wonder his parents were gone.

Roxas glanced at himself in the mirror, and ran a hand through his blonde, naturally spiked hair. Good enough. Hurriedly, he locked the door behind him and stepped out onto the red-stone streets of Twilight Town. He had to get to the Usual Spot soon to avoid Olette's wrath. She would definitely chastise him for wasting the day away sleeping.

As he ran through the streets, Roxas noticed many of the citizenry giving him odd looks, not a few watching him suspiciously until he was out of sight. Roxas remembered then the deep problem that he and his friends were in. What a day to be late! He felt a weird, unsettling, sense of hurt that his neighbors and friends were all afraid of him now—just because of a misunderstanding. Ignoring the rest of the wary looks, Roxas reached the Usual Place in record time.

The Usual Place was a small, unassuming offshoot of a side alley. A metal gate and hanging blanket separated it from the rest of the street. Inside, it was a single, square room filled with all sorts of assorted items that he and his friends has collected over their time together—games, couches, an old stove. Above the Usual Place ran one of the many paths of railtrack that crossed the town. Every couple days or so, the train would rumble overhead, making conversation inaudible for a few minutes at a time. The Usual Place was their little group's headquarters and home away from home. It was where Roxas would meet with Hayner, Pence and Olette to plan their day. It was where they held their own private birthday parties for each other, and where they would do homework together(More like Olette would do homework, while trying to get Hayner to stop goofing off and concentrate, and stopping Pence from distracting him). It was where Pence had spent most of his time while his parents were getting a divorce, even sleeping there at times, while his friends would bring him food and stay with him. It was, in fact, where Hayner had brought them all together to meet when they were only children. Scratch what he had said about it being their "home away from home", the Usual Spot was more their home than anywhere else they had.

As Roxas slowed down and approached the red curtain, he could already hear Hayner venting loudly.

"MAN, doesn't that just tick you off?" Hayner's rough voice yelled. Roxas guessed he was talking about their problem at hand, and pushed through the curtain.

Hayner, dressed in camo, blonde hair messy as always, acknowledged Roxas' arrival with a nod. Pence, hairband holding his brown hair straight up, smiled at Roxas with his bright chocolate eyes before shifting his rather ample weight back towards Hayner. "Yeah, that's just wrong!"

Hayner nodded viciously and continued to pace.

Roxas took a seat on the couch beside Olette, who was twisting at her brown braids.

"How long has he been riled up?" Roxas whispered.

"Hi, Roxas." Olette sighed. "It's been a few hours at this point."

Roxas nodded in acknowledgment. "Seifer _has_ gone too far this time."

"I know, right?" Hayner exclaimed. "I mean, it's true that stuff has been stolen around town, and we have a score to settle with Seifer and everything...so if _he _wants to think we did it, I can't really blame him. See, that's not what really bugs me" a fire lit itself in Hayner's eyes. "What really bugs me is that he's goin' around telling everybody that we're the thieves! Now the whole town and their mothers are treating us like the Klepto Club!" Hayner was waving his arms by this point, gesturing wildly. "Have you ever been this ticked off before in your life? 'cause I haven't! Nuh-uh! NEVER!"

Roxas agreed with Hayner on all his points, but he couldn't help but smile a little at the last thing Hayner had "never been this ticked off before" in the middle of last week, too. And the week before that.

Hayner's voice took on a more calm, serious tone, and he punched his left hand into his right fist. "Now...what to do..." and he returned to pacing.

Roxas spoke up, leaning back into the couch. "We could find the real thieves. That would set the record straight."

"Hey! That sounds good!" Pence agreed.

Hayner crossed his arms. "And what about Seifer?"

"Well, first, we've gotta clear our names." Roxas replied. "Once we find the real culprit, everyone'll get off our backs."

Hayner hmmmed and glared at Roxas.

"Oh no! They're gone!" Pence suddenly cried out. "Our photos! They're gone!"

"Seifer must've done it!" Hayner's fingers curled in rage. "Ugh! He makes me so angry! Roxas, you're right, we'll find the real thief, and it'll be Seifer!"

With that, Hayner pushed the curtain out of the way, and sprinted from the Usual Place.

"C'mon! We've gotta go after him before he does something stupid!" Olette cried. Pence agreed, and both headed after their temperamental friend. Roxas moved to follow them, but upon standing, felt himself overcome with extreme dizziness, His world tipped around him, and he collapsed to the floor.

"_His heart is returning. Doubtless he will awaken very soon."_

Just as soon as the dizziness swamped over him, it was gone, and Roxas pulled himself to his feet and ran after his friends—the mysterious voice already drifting away into his memories.

"Hey, man, why the wait?" Hayner asked, apparently having held everyone up to wait for Roxas.

"Ah, it was nothing." Roxas lied, not wanting to have to bother explaining the strange episode. "Just had to tie my shoes."

Hayner looked about to respond, when a man walking across the street motioned and yelled. "Yo, Roxas! 'never thought you'd do such a rotten thing!"

Obviously, Seifer's rumor had spread pretty far. Roxas opened his mouth to reply, but he felt Olette's arm on his shoulder.

"Ignore him, Roxas" she smiled.

Unfortunately, Hayner took up the flag for Roxas.

"Hey, jerk, we didn't take the stuff!"

"Hey..." the man shrugged. "I'd like to believe you, but...who else would've taken it?"

"What stuff are you even talking about?" Roxas asked back, realizing that Hayner would only escalate the situation.

The man sighed as he turned the corner and walked out of sight. "as if you didn't know..."

Hayner growled. "We're gonna teach that Seifer a lesson!"

"Hey, why don't we get some candy first?" Olette calmly suggested, obviously hoping to relax Hayner at least a little bit before confronting Seifer.

"Great idea!" Pence interjected, and took Hayner in one arm, while Olette took the other, and marched their angry friend toward the town square and the candy shop. Roxas looked after where the man had disappeared for a moment, before scuffing his foot on the cobblestone and walking after his friends.

* * *

><p>"UGH!" Hayner slammed the door behind him. "HERE too! Even old Mrs. Shizzle thinks we stole the stuff!"<p>

"Well...at least we know what it is we supposedly stole, at least." Pence said.

"But that only confused this whole thing more!" Olette replied. "Why would we steal photos? PHOTOS!"

Roxas ran a hand through his hair. Apparently the thief had been stealing pictures. Why, he didn't know.

"But we're missing photos, too!" Hayner cried. "It's gotta be Seifer! I KNOW it's Seifer!"

"Jeeze, all this noise, what's the deal, losers?" an aggravating, frustrating, infuriating, horrible voice called out in its perpetually disgusted tone. Roxas grit his teeth. It was Seifer.

Hayner jumped around to fully face the four persons that had arrived behind him, unnoticed. The first, standing slightly forward, in the middle, wore a blue vest and a long, white trenchcoat. A blue beanie covered his short-cropped blonde hair. It was none-other than Seifer. Behind him stood the rest of his gang. The silver-haired, red-eyed, and quiet Fuu, the black hair and dark-skinned, Rai, and Vivi, who stood half as tall as everyone else, face obscured in darkness by his(or her?) high-collared blue coat and wide-brimmed, pointed hat.

"Thieves." Fuu accused, pointing her finger sternly.

"Yeah! That was low, y'know!" Rai stomped his foot.

"Oh yeah?" Hayner stomped back.

"Nice comback there, blondie." Seifer scoffed.

"What'd you say?" Hayner turned his stomp towards Seifer.

Unresponsive to Hayner, and unemotional in general, Seifer spoke to the whole group. "You can give us back the photos now."

"Yeah!" Rai backed up his leader. "You're the only ones who would take it, y'know?"

Roxas clenched his hands. Rai's habit of ending every one of his sentences with 'y'know' gets really old, really fast.

Seifer took a step towards Hayner, raising a finger. "Those were undeniable proof that we totally owned you failures." he grinned smugly. "So what'd you do? Burn them?"

Hayner growled.

"Although, it's not like we need some photos to prove that you suck." Seifer continued.

"Replay." Fuu suggested.

Seifer cackled. "Now you're talking!"

Vivi waddled up beside Seifer and handed him a blue, foam covered bat. An official struggle bat. He(she? It, Roxas firmly decided) had apparently taken it from a bin of the things that Seifer's gang had been carrying with them. Seifer tested it in his hands, and then pointed it at Roxas and his friends. "Maybe if you get on your knees and beg, I might let it slide."

Roxas let out a slow exhalation of breath. It took only the mention of Seifer's name to tick Hayner off, but it took Seifer's very appearance to piss Roxas -way- off. Roxas took a few steps forward, and made to kneel in front of Seifer. He heard his friends gasp behind him, and saw the look of momentary shock on Seifer's face before it returned to its normal, smug-and-ugly form.

"Didn't think you were that-"

Roxas didn't even let Seifer finish the sentence before he dove and grabbed a struggle bat for himself from the large bin.

"There's the Roxas I know!" Hayner cheered.

"Give it to him!" Pence encouraged.

Seifer, taken slightly aback, took a moment to recover.

"Alright, you're asking for it!" he declared and took the first swing of the foam covered bat toward Roxas.

Roxas easily blocked the downward swing, and pushed the attack up and away. He knew how well Seifer could handle a struggle bat—almost everyone their age practiced year-round with the things to prepare for the annual Struggle Tournament—so he had to be careful.

Seifer took another side swing, and Roxas moved to block it. However, it had just been a fake, and Seifer quickly struck to the left instead, hitting Roxas on his shoulder. Hard. He felt the foam cushion the blow, but not enough that he didn't feel the hardened material inside. Roxas twisted away from the pain, he'd probably have a bruise there tomorrow.

"Over yet?" Seifer grinned.

"You wish!" Roxas replied and jumped forward and low, aiming for Seifer's legs. Seifer smirked haughtily and blocked the strike. Roxas spun quickly on the ball of his foot and snapped the struggle bat around to the left, connecting firmly with Seifer's jaw. His arch-rival was knocked off his feet and fell to the ground.

Roxas rubbed at his chin and let the struggle bat fall to his side. Rai and Fuu ran in between Roxas and Seifer.

"Seifer's not feelin' so hot, y'know!" Rai interjected worriedly.

Pence stuck out his tongue at gang. "Well, I know he's not now!"

"Hey, Pence, wouldn't you say now is a great time for a picture?" Hayner elbowed Pence mischievously.

"I'd say you're right!" Pence gleefully took a small camera from his pocket and, holding it up to his eye, snapped a photo of Roxas standing in front of the downed Seifer.

Roxas was about to ask Pence to let him see it, when, suddenly, a strange white blur shot past Roxas' vision.

"Ah! My camera!" Pence yelled after the white blur. Roxas watched the thing wriggle through the air, unnaturally. It was like nothing he had ever seen. It looked vaguely humanoid, but it was completely white, with strangely long arms and legs. Most off about it, though, was by far the way it moved. It twisted and turned and jerked through the air like a puppet on strings, until it disappeared around the corner at the edge of the plaza.

"What the heck was that?" Hayner said, shocked.

"The thief?" Olette asked aloud.

"Let's get him!" Hayner yelled, running after the thing's trail. Roxas took off with him, only seconds behind. Without looking, Roxas was sure that Olette and Pence had followed.

Pushing people aside, as carefully as possible, Roxas followed the creature by what seemed to be instinct—he couldn't always quite keep his eye on it, but he felt where Hayner was going and, in turn, where the thief was headed. The creepy thing slid its way around corners, and slipped down alleyways, always rippling through the air. Before Roxas even realized it, he had chased it into a large hole in the wall at the edge of the Tram Common. Through the hole, he emerged into a small spit of forest. Wasn't this the way to the Old Mansion?

Looking up, Roxas saw the thief glide through the trunks and branches, sliding along their surfaces and twisting across gaps. He turned to express his disbelief to Hayner—but found his friend missing, along with Pence and Olette.

When had he lost them?  
>Roxas didn't have time to worry about that, though, as the thief was almost out of sight. Roxas sped up, dodging through the dense trees, before breaking out into a small clearing that lay in front of a large, cast-iron gate. Beyond the gate lay the towering and sprawling Old Mansion—it's ramparts and and upper rooms just visible above the large gate. The thief seemed to be simply standing and gazing into the courtyard through the metal bars of the gate.<p>

"Hey! You!" Roxas called out.

The thief twitched, and bent over backwards, allowing Roxas a disturbing first look at its face. It was perfectly rounded, with a sloped forehead that was marked in some kind of strange symbol, it's mouth appeared to be a glistening line of silver teeth and it didn't seem to have eyes. The rest of its body looked to be made out of an off-white jumpsuit, with five, thin, long fingers—each easily as long as its arms-on each hand, bound together by two black strands.

Roxas stood speechless and fearful, as the white creature remained in that contorted angle, seeming to glare, eyeless, at Roxas. Suddenly, and terrifyingly slowly, its silver mouth...unzipped, revealing a gaping mouth with vicious teeth within.

When it spoke into his mind, Roxas felt his body completely chill. He knew then that he was facing something that was more than natural, and it was definitely going to kill him in some horrible way.

"_We have come for you, my liege..."_ it whispered. Rasped.

The thing—for Roxas had no idea what to call it now—took a few backwards(or was it forwards for it?) steps toward Roxas, constricted fingers reaching out for him. It was like something out of a nightmare. Roxas stood, paralyzed by fear, unable to move in the face of this horrible thing. Suddenly, he felt a tingling sensation in his hand, and looked down to see a column of 'ones' and 'zeroes' surround his hand. When these numbers faded,with a click, a long sword—gold at the hilt, and silver on the key-shaped blade—was held firmly in his grasp.

"Wha—what is this thing?" Roxas inhaled sharply.

_Keyblade_

_Keyblade_

_Keyblade_

_Keyblade_

The thing lunged at Roxas, and Roxas threw up the sword—or Keyblade—wildly, lopping the horrific creature's thin arms off. It shrieked from it's teeth-filled mouth and twisted away unnaturally, spinning in ways that shouldn't be possible and that gave Roxas a headache just watching. Pressing his attack, Roxas charged forward with the new confidence the Keyblade had given him, and ran the thing straight through his attacker. With an ear-piercing scream, the thing collapsed into a lifeless husk on the ground—sliding off from the end of Keyblade(which disappeared seconds after the monster's defeat).

Roxas breathed heavily at the exertion. _What had just happened?_

Scattered all around the corpse of the...thing...were dozens of little pictures, taken from all over town. Roxas quickly gathered them up, not wanting to stand in the presence of the thing anymore, nor even be seen with it. Jogging back through the woods, and happily leaving the Old Mansion behind, Roxas couldn't help but wonder why the creature had referred to him as "my liege."

"Roxas! There you are!" Olette called out, waving to him from across the plaza.

Roxas continued over to them. "Hey, where'd I lose you guys? C'mon, why didn't you follow me?"

"We thought we had been!" replied Pence. "But then we turned a corner after you and you were just...gone!"

"Did you find the thief?" Hayner asked

"Mmhmm." Roxas replied, holding up the stolen pictures.

"That's awesome! How'd you get those back from him?" Olette asked, reaching out to take the photos from Roxas.

Roxas hesitated. What was he supposed to tell them? "It's strangely simple, actually. I cornered him, and he used the pictures as a distraction to escape." he lied. "I guess they weren't as important to him as his freedom was."

"The question is now..." Olette asked, mulling through the photos. "Why were these important at all?"

The gang of three gathered around Olette and looked at the pictures over her shoulder.

Pence pointed to a picture of Roxas standing next to a blonde-haired man."What's that one of?"

"I was his first customer, so we took a picture together. It's Stanley, Pence, the guy who runs the Struggle Shop?"

"Oh! Right, right!" Pence agreed.

"Hah!" Hayner laughed and snagged a picture from Olette. "This one's with a giiiiiirl!"

Olette giggled and teased. "You look happy, Roxas!"

"Do not!" Roxas replied hastily.

"Eh, he's right." Hayner tossed the picture back to Olette and stuck out his tongue at Roxas. "Roxas never looks happy."

"Thanks..." Roxas mumbled.

"Does anyone else notice that all of these pictures are of Roxas?" Pence asked aloud, scanning through all the other photographs, including a group shot of them in front of the Old Mansion, another of them riding the trains, and one of his humiliating defeat by Seifer. Maybe they wouldn't return that last one...

"Oh! So that's probably why everyone thought we stole them!" Olette declared. "Roxas was the one connecting factor!"

"So...you mean Seifer didn't actually go around accusing us after all?" Hayner sighed, and deflated a little.

Pence bounced on the balls of feet. "Wouldn't it be weird if someone wanted to steal the real Roxas or something?"

Roxas snorted, while Hayner laughed aloud. "C'mon, get serious!" he slapped Roxas on the back. "Who would want to steal a bonehead like Roxas?"

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><p><em>RESTORATION AT 12%-<em>

Far away from Twilight Town, and yet very, very close, a man in a black cloak and a man in a maroon cape and cloak stood in a room lit only by the light of a dozen computer monitors.

The man in red, his entire face covered by strips of cloth, save his mouth and his left eye, sneered. "Organization miscreants...they've found us."

"But...why would the Nobodies want to steal photographs?" the man in black asked.

The man in the maroon cloak played with a few of the brown belts that covered his torso. "Both are nothing but data to them. The fools could never tell the difference." A hint of amusement nestled in his voice. "We are running out of time, though. Namine must make haste."

The red-cloaked man's gaze of his single eye fell down toward the largest monitor, which showed the sleeping face of a young boy with spikey, chestnut hair._  
><em>

* * *

><p><em>My original plan was for this chapter to contain the entire second and third days. However, that would've taken me quite a bit more time and, while I wouldn't have minded, I really wanted to get a chapter out to you guys sooner, rather than later.<em>

_Here we go!_

_~Mars_


	3. The Real World

_Busy, busy._

_**Chapter III: The Real World  
><strong>__for whatever we lose(like a you or a me)  
><em>_it's always ourselves that we find in the sea._

_~e. e. cummings_

_**The Second Day:**_

_A fuzzy awakening; a black and white world._

_Signs and buildings and blinking lights imply a color that isn't there._

"_What happened to my home? My Island?"_

"_Riku?"_

"_...Kai-?"  
>Glitch in, glitch out.<em>

_A dog and duck, a little ninja and a serious man._

"_The Heartless have great fear of the Keyblade."  
>"Right, the Keyblade!"<em>

"_So...this is the Key...?"_

"A Keyblade..." Roxas lay still on his back, imagining the blade that had appeared to him the day before. It was now eleven in the morning. His parents hadn't woken him up. Must be a busy week for them.

Sighing, Roxas rolled out of bed and onto the floor, laying there a while.

More dreams.

The trains passed by outside.

Just like every day.

* * *

><p>As Roxas turned into the alleyway to get to the Usual Place, his foot bumped into a lone stick, about arm's length, lying in his way. His mind still on the Keyblade, he picked it up and swung it for a few strokes. Snorting at his own silliness, Roxas tossed the stick over his shoulder and out of mind. Instead of hearing it just clatter against the cobblestone, however, he heard a soft thud before the clatter. Looking back, he startled to notice a tall man in a black, hooded cloak staring him, the stick laying at his feet.<p>

Oops.

The man turned and walked away, without a word.

"Sorry...about that..." Roxas called after him, hesitantly.

It was strange that the guy hadn't gotten mad at him or anything, very weird, because Roxas felt that, if it had been him there, he definitely would have.

At the Usual Spot, everyone was already eating their sea salt ice cream. Olette pulled one for Roxas out of its wrapper and handed it over as Roxas pulled up a chair. No one welcomed him outright, but he didn't mind. They were such good friends that simply a look was enough of a welcome, and Roxas liked it that way.

"Do you guys think...we'll always be together like this?" Pence suddenly asked.

"I sure hope so" Olette answered.

Hayner laughed. "Where'd that come from?"

"Oh, well, you know...just thinking out loud!" Pence replied.

"Well, I doubt we could be together forever, but isn't that what growing up is all about?" Hayner said, suddenly philosophical. "What's important isn't how often we see each other, but how often we think about each other, right?"

Everyone was quiet for a moment, drinking in Hayner's out-of-character response.

"You get that off a fortune cookie?" Pence teased.

"Shut up!" Hayner shoved him. "Man, today's turning out to be a drag."

"Maybe it's because of yesterday's photo thief?" Olette suggested.

"Nuhuh. You know what it is?" Hayner jumped to his feet. Roxas could tell that he was about to suggest something. "We don't want summer vacation to be over! That's all! So how about this: we all go to the beach!"

"But what about-" Roxas started.

"Why do we go to the beach?" Hayner continued. "Because we haven't gone once this entire summer vacation! Blue seas! Blue skies! Let's just get on the train and go!"

"Maybe you forgot..." Roxas responded. "But we're broke."

Hayner winked. "Maybe you forgot, I'm smart!"

"Don't worry, Roxas" Pence interjected, mirth bursting from his eyes. "It's an easy thing to forget!"

Pence and Roxas laughed, and Hayner stomped his foot. "Look, there's always a lot to do around town, and a train to the beach doesn't cost _that _much. We could all just do some odd-jobs around town today and it'll be fine!"

"Ugh...work? Really?" Roxas groaned and slid against his chair. It was still Summer!

"Beach!" Hayner replied.

"Work..." Roxas mumbled back.

"Beach!" Hayner replied again, enthusiastically.

Roxas groaned.

"C'mon, Roxas, it's almost the end of summer! The Struggle Match is like, only in two days!" Hayner emphasized with his hands. "Which, by the way, you and I have to make the finals. That way, no matter who wins, the four of us will split the prize"

"It's a promise." Roxas nodded and saluted. "But work? Really?"

"Like I was saying, summer's almost over! We've gotta do _something. _And all good things take a little work!"

"Fine..." Roxas agreed reluctantly, before having a piece of paper thrust into his hand.

"Pick one, Roxas." Olette smiled. "It's an advertisement of jobs being offered."

Roxas glanced down at it, amazed that Olette had snuck out and snatched this off some advertising billboard while they had been talking. A few different jobs were advertised. Grandstanding, cargo carrying, mail delivery...

Running his options through his mind, Roxas passed the advert off to Hayner.

"I guess I'll go with putting up struggle posters."

* * *

><p>"So, what've we got?" Hayner asked excitedly.<p>

Roxas took a heavy breath and passed his handful of money to Olette. He had just spent the last several hours running all over Twilight Town posting advertisements for the upcoming struggle on every wall and streetcorner. It had better be worth it.  
>Roxas noticed Pence cringing as he passed his munny, and saw that his friend had several small welts on his face.<p>

"Pence, what happened to you?" Roxas question.

"Bees." Pence responded, shuddering. "Don't ask."

"Nice work everyone!" Olette smiled, placing the combined money into one small pouch and handing it to Roxas, as she didn't have any pockets on her orange dress."Added to what we started with, we now have...4,800 munny!"

"Sweet! That's enough for the 900 each we need for the train, and then 300 for spending left over!" Hayner pumped his fist.

"Spending on what?" Roxas asked.

"On pretzels of course! What else is there?"

"Well, there's also watermelon..." Roxas suggested. He was feeling really hot.

"Dude, that's like, 2,000 munny a'piece! We need something much cheaper. Unless you wanna be working-" Hayner gestured back the way Roxas had came.

"No, no, it's ok. I love pretzels!" Roxas replied.

"C'mon, guys, let's get our tickets!" Olette said, running toward the station. "We don't want to miss the train!"

Hayner followed after Olette, who was quickly followed by Pence. "We can't be together forever...so we have to make the time we have count."

Roxas looked over to Hanyer. "What?"

"Gotcha!" Hayner sucker-punched Roxas in the arm and took off.

"Hey!" Roxas followed, before falling flat on his face. He felt a shadow cover his body.

"uhhhh..." Roxas groaned. Looking up to see what had tripped him, Roxas' gaze followed a black cloak up to a hooded face. The man he'd thrown the stick at! He was back for revenge!

Roxas gasped as the man grabbed him roughly by the arm and hoisted him to his feet. The man jerked him close and leaned down to whisper in his ear.

"_Can you feel Sora?"_

"What?"

"Roxas! C'mon!" Hayner called to him from up the road.

"Alright!" Roxas yelled in reply, looking back to see that the man had disappeared.

"Wha-?" he wondered aloud, and ran after Hayner and his friends.

* * *

><p>"Four students, please!" Hayner asked the man behind the counter at the train station. "Roxas, the money!" he held his outstretched arm.<p>

Roxas reached into his right pocket for the money pouch. It wasn't there. What? But that was where he had put it! He reached for the other pocket, then his back pockets, and in his jacket. Nothing! It was gone! Dammit!

"It's gone! He must've took it!"

"What? What're you saying?" Olette asked, concerned.

"Remember when I fell? I had the money before that! I bet that guy took it!" Roxas turned to run out of the station. "C'mon, he couldn't have gotten too far!"

"Guy?" Hayner asked, confused.

"What are you talking about, Roxas?" Pence asked.

"There wasn't any guy, Roxas." Hayner said. "Believe me, I couldn't stop laughing that you tripped over nothing."

"There...wasn't? Really?" Roxas stood silently. The train whistled in the background and chugged out of the station.

Pence sighed. "Ahwell..."

Olette, Hayner and Pence filed around Roxas, who couldn't take his eyes off the floor.

"There wasn't...anyone there?"

* * *

><p><em>RESTORATION AT 28%-<em>

The black cloak threw the small munny pouch up in the air and caught it. He watched as the red cloak's fingers flew over the screens of his computers.

"Is it really that hard to make a beach?"

Catch.

"We'd be giving the enemy another entry point."

"And this?" the black cloakheld out the munny pouch.

"We can always buy some sea salt ice cream." The red-cloak chuckled heartily. "Objects from that town must be kept out of the real world. You can delete that."

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Third Day<strong>_

"_As the Keybearer, you must know! One must not meddle in the affairs of other worlds!"_

"_Thus, I do hereby dub thee junior heroes..."_

_Glitch in, glitch out._

"_I wish...I wish for you freedom, Genie!"  
>"Sally, why didn't I listen to you?"<em>

"_I still can't believe it...I really flew! Wait till I tell Kai-"_

_Freeze. Static. Crack. Collapse._

_A beautiful blonde girl in a white dress in front of a strange, petal shaped white dome._

"_Who...are you?"_

_The girl turned to look over her shoulder, smiling sweetly and knowingly._

Roxas lay on his bed, not opening his eyes. Just thinking. These dreams...they were becoming so jumbled, yet so clear. Where were they coming from? There seemed to be more and more fantastical beings in every one...

Sighing, Roxas slowly opened his eyes, accepting the reality of the world around him. Something abnormally white in the corner caught his glance, but when he jerked his head to see, nothing was there. Weird. These dreams must be making him paranoid.

Still no parents downstairs, and he'd gotten up even earlier today. Weird, too. Oh well. There was a note stuck in the door from Hayner, Pence and Olette

"_Meet at the station. Today's the day we hit the beach—and don't sweat about the munny!" ~Hayner_

* * *

><p>Slowly making his way through the streets of Twilight Town, with his mind still on the dreams, Roxas didn't notice the approach of Olette and Pence.<p>

"Morning!" Olette tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh, hey guys-" Roxas looked up to greet his friends, but found each of them looking back at him with frozen smiles. The world around him had ceased passing by.

Roxas didn't know what to think or say. What was happening? Why have things been so weird recently! What's going on!

Roxas squeezed his eyes shut and took a breath, hoping that something would come of it, like in the movies.

When he opened his eyes, something had.

The girl in the white sundress was staring deeply, curiously, into Roxas' eyes, head tilted forward,her bright blue eyes startling in their clarity. Roxas yelped and stumbled back.

"Hello, Roxas!" the girl greeted cheerfully, eyes shining.

"Uh...hi?" Roxas hesitated. "And you are...?"

The girl steepled her fingers and leaned even closer. It seemed to Roxas almost as if she was studying him. "I just wanted to meet you, at least once!"

"Me...?"

"Yes, you!" The girl smiled as if Roxas had made a joke. With a little wave, she turned and disappeared into the crowd. Had there been a crowd before? Roxas couldn't remember as he watcher her slender body, draped in that white sundress, disappear into the maybe-was-not-there swarm.

"Olette dragged me along to go shopping." Pence sighed with exaggeration.

Wait. When had time started moving again?

"Hey! Wanna come with us?" Olette asked, dragging Pence forward.

"Um, uh, wait, did you just see that?" Roxas stumbled through his words.

Pence chuckled "He's just stalling, Olette, I don't think he wants to go!"

"Alright, we'll see you later then, Roxas, okay?" Olette waved and left, dragging Pence after her.

"Y-yeah..." Roxas took only a second to wonder why his friends weren't at the station with Hayner, before searching through the crowd to see if there was any sign of the white girl. Suddenly, a glimpse of bright blonde shone through the group, and Roxas took off after it, pushing his way toward it. No one seemed to react to his shoves and stumbling. This girl had to know what was going on!

Through the crowd, Roxas followed glimpses and snapshots of her throughout the town, all the way to the forest on the southern edge of the Town, through the Tram Commons. As he entered the woods, several trees seemed to split, and each released one of the horrible white creatures from the other day. Each seemed to pull itself, with their long, twisted fingers, out of the black holes that had emerged in the trees. They wriggled as they moved, their whole bodies rippling. Their eyelessness focused on Roxas, who gave them no time to react to him, and turned to run back into the town. But where had the girl gone? Had she gotten past those white guys? Had they hurt her?

Roxas couldn't get that possibility out of his head, so he turned back to the forest to investigate. Maybe that Keyblade would reappear and he could fight the monsters off and find the girl!

"Hey, chicken wuss!" the most grating and annoying voice in the world suddenly called out.

Roxas groaned. He turned back towards the town, facing the newly arrived Seifer and his gang.

"Look, Seifer, I'm kind of in the middle of-" Roxas began, but was suddenly interrupted by Fuu, who was pointing behind him.

"Who-?" she asked aloud, her face showing the first visible emotion Roxas had ever seen on her: fear.

Without needing to turn, Roxas knew that the white monsters were behind him.

"I dunno what those are..." Seifer's face hardened as he swung his struggle bat out from under his coat and towards the creatures. "But they've already crossed the line!"

Seifer proceeded not to move an inch.

It took a moment for Roxas to realize that the world had frozen around him. It took another moment for him to realize that the white creatures behind him had most definitely not stopped. He stumbled backward and covered his face as the creatures slithered along the ground and through the air towards him.

"Roxas! Use the Keyblade!" a soft voice commanded anxiously.

Out of the corner of his eye, Roxas saw a flash of white and blonde atop a small apartment building to his left. The girl was here?  
>The white creatures were still coming towards him. Roxas tried to do whatever he had done before to summon the Keyblade, but nothing happened. He begged, cajoled, asked and pleaded to nothing that Keyblade just appear. With the white creatures closing in, barely a few feet away, Roxas pinched his eyes shut and threw up his arms.<p>

And, like so many others time during this crazy day, nothing happened.

After a few moments of not being attacked, Roxas slowly brought down his arms and blinked open his eyes, wondering what had stopped the white creatures. His blood ran cold when he realized he was staring into blackness all around him. A great deal of nothing, stretching out into infinite nothing. The only thing in existence was the multi-colored platform his now sat on, which appeared to be made of some kind of stain glass.

As Roxas stood up, the intricate patterns took on more and more recognizable shapes, until he, more or less, found the entire platform visible. The design etched into the glass showed the image of a boy, no older than Roxas, with spiky chesnut hair and oddly mismatched clothing. The boy seemed to be asleep, and in one hand, he held the very same blade Roxas had found himself with the other day: the Keyblade. Around the boy was more intricate colors, and small circles of glass, each containing a face. One was a boy with long, silver hair. Another was a girl with short, red hair. Roxas didn't have to look any further before realizing these were people from his dreams! Sora! Riku! That girl that was always with Sora! And his two companions—Donald and Goofy, was it?

Where in the world was he?

Suddenly, Roxas felt cold metal appear in his hand. Looking down, he found the Keyblade nestled there.

What was going on?

_Roxas..._

Roxas spun around to the sound of the voice. It sounded eerily like his own.

Standing across the platform was a figure in a black cloak, very similar to the one he had hit with the stick yesterday. However, Roxas knew intrinsically that this was not the same figure. This one was much shorter, and held himself in a much different manner.

"Who are you!" Roxas demanded, taking a step forward and brandishing the Keyblade, "And what do you want with me!"

The figure didn't respond, but started to bulge out at odd angles. Roxas cringed, and wanted to look away, but couldn't. The figure suddenly exploded into a mass of white and grew, in an indescribable fashion. Roxas had no idea what to think about what was currently happening in front of him, watching this figure mutate. It was horrifying. The thing grew to massive proportion, towering over Roxas. It now looked similar to the white creatures, but also very much different. It's head was completely white and blank, except for an odd symbol where its face should have been. The symbol appear as one white spear pointing upward, a double sided spear crossing that one, and, at the bottom of the first spear, two half circles bulging out from it. Around its neck was wrapped what almost looked like a light blue collar, that branched out into four billowing appendage-like endings that moved with what seemed to be a mind of their own. The creature's body was oddly misshapen, with arms that branched out in spiked endings at its shoulders, and, at its curved hands, reached almost down to its feet. It's body was curved and angled in all the wrong ways, ending at feet that streamlined to triangular points.

The creature stared down at Roxas, eyeless, and Roxas took a few hesitant steps away. The creature quite suddenly bent its body, at its middle, at a ninety degree angle, covering the entire platform. It's four appendages, in addition to its arms and legs, connected themselves firmly with the glass, seeming almost to meld into it. It's body stretched and moved to accommodate the new position, and each inch of it started to wriggle and twist. From each point where its body touched the ground, twisting, zig-zagging patterns of black and white energy sprouted up and shot towards Roxas, they, too, turning at strange and unnatural angles.

Completely at a loss for thought, and completely horrified, Roxas simply dove away from the approaching energy, surprised to find himself more agile than he had thought. His body had gracefully flipped through the air, turning away from the energy at every movement, and landed smoothly on the glass. Since when could he do that? Dodging more energy, Roxas just decided to be grateful for whatever it was.

With another flip, Roxas found himself coming down above the bent body of the giant monster. Reacting without thinking, Roxas twisted the Keyblade at a downward angle as he fell, slicing through a good portion of the creature's body. The creature, however, barely responded, simply twisting and reforming itself into its original, but still disturbing, shape.

Roxas felt a strong force pin his arms and legs apart, holding him fast in an X shape. Without his notice, the monster had disappaered. Where had it gone? Severely limited without the use of his arms or legs, Roxas could only anxiously glance around.

Far ahead of him, the white thing twirled into view from below the platform. Moving in odd, jerky movements, the white monster slithered forward, its blank face examining Roxas' closely. Fluidly, an arm twisted up and reached for Roxas.

Utilizing what little mobility he had, Roxas twisted his body slightly out of the way, and pulled against the restraints to knock the arm away with the Keyblade. The white creature responded with a spinning twist away, back into the darkness beyond the platform. There, it froze, almost seeming to glare at Roxas. From its faraway position, it's long arms stretched across the gap and grabbed Roxas in a tight grip. Holding him for only a moment, the monster threw Roxas high up into the air. As Roxas tumbled back down through the emptiness, he dodged a swinging arm and slashed the Keyblade aimlessly toward the monster's head. Surprised, again, by his own ability, the Keyblade connected mightily and the creature collapsed to the platform, and slid off into the darkness.

Roxas landed softly, bending his knees to absorb the impact. The platform was silent. Was it over? What even was 'it'?

Suddenly, the ground below him shook, and Roxas felt the platform tip and fall. As he slid down towards the darkness, Roxas stabbed the Keyblade into the platform just in time to hold him, dangling, over the emptiness. From his new position, Roxas could see that the platform of stain glass was actually a grand tower or column, currently being dragged down into the darkness by the white monster, which had the platform by its legs. Between its arm, a giant, writing white energy ball was being formed. As the creature let go of the platform, and the world seemed to begin to twist back to normal, it threw the energy ball toward Roxas. Falling towards the swirling mass, Roxas aimed with his arm and threw the Keyblade in a a spinning fashion towards the center of the energy mass. With an explosion, the Keyblade met the energy ball and Roxas and the white creature collapsed back to the stain-glass platform.

Clearing his head, Roxas stood to his feet. Collapsed in front of him lay the white monster, and beside its head, the Keyblade stood upright, stabbed into the stain glass. Stumbling forward, Roxas pulled the Keyblade from the platform and stabbed the end of the blade deep into the monster's head.

Without a sound, darkness began to seep out from the monster's head around the edges of the Keyblade. Roxas sighed, leaning against the implanted Keyblade. How had he even done that? Sure, he had beaten many of his peers at Struggle, but that was absolutely nothing compared to this! Where had he figured out how to do all these crazy things?

Suddenly, the flow of darkness increased in strength. Roxas felt a push on the point on the end of the Keyblade, and yelped as the darkness forced the blade out of the monster's head, tossing it out of Roxas' hand and off into the darkness around. Without anything to hold the darkness back, it began to flow unimpeded from the monster's head, splattering around the platform and covering Roxas. With the platform flooded, Roxas felt the darkness begin to drag him down, making him heavy.

As the darkness seemed to drown him, Roxas felt a small, soft hand grab onto his wrist and pull him upwards. Roxas opened his eyes, not realizing they had been closed, to find himself in a a completely white room—stunning in its clarity. Blinding in its own right, it was now particularly eye-numbing in comparison to the darkness he had just experiences.

Sitting atop a white chair in front of him, the blonde girl smiled at him. Roxas opened his mouth to speak, but the girl brought one finger up over her mouth, indicating silence over her smile.

"My name is Naminé." the girl placed a small hand over her heart. "Roxas...do you remember your true name?"

Just as Roxas was about to respond, a black, swirling portal besmirched the white room. A tall man in a black cloak walked out from it.

"Say no more, Naminé." a deep voice commanded.

"But if no one tells him, Roxas will-" Naminé responded worriedly.

"It's best if he doesn't know the truth." the cloaked man returned and reached for Naminé

Sudden clarity dawned on Roxas. "Hey! You're that pick pocket!"

The cloaked man turned, appearing as if he had just noticed Roxas for the first time. Without a word, the man lifted a hand, and another black portal appeared behind Roxas. With another step forward, the man simply shoved Roxas into it, and the world went dark.

* * *

><p>Roxas came to with his face against the cold Twilight Town cobblestone and the ridiculously annoying sound of Rai's "ya'know"s.<p>

"Strike a pose, y'know!"

Ugh. Roxas groaned and looked up to see Seifer standing over him, triumphantly posed. Rai was taking photos of him._ Great._

"What're...those for?" Roxas mumbled, gesturing towards the camera.

"Keepsake." Fuu responded.

"Those freaks in the white jumpsuits are gone, y'know?" Rai snapped another photo.

"Cakewalk." Fuu added.

"They were outsiders." Seifer rolled his head, cracking his neck. "and if they don't wise up to the rules around here, I might have to take 'disciplinary measures'."

"Oh yeah!" Rai fist-pumped. "Seifer's always lookin' after the town, y'know?"

Roxas sighed and stood up. It was time to get out of here. Pushing everything weird out of his head—it wasn't worth figuring out now, if it even was possible to figure out—he wondered what time it was. Looking across the plaza, his eyes fell on Hayner, Pence and Olette watching him with Seifer's gang. When Hayner caught Roxas' gaze, he just shook his head and walked away. Pence and Olette looked sadly at Roxas and followed after Hayner.

Roxas felt his heart drop. This day was just getting better and better. Why was his life falling apart all in this one week?

Ignoring Seifer's threat regarding the tournament tomorrow, Roxas ran after his friends.

"We'll be waitin', y'know!" Rai called after him.

Just shut up already, Rai, Roxas clenched his fists.

"Hey guys!" he yelled after his friends, catching up to them easily as they lazily walked down the emptying streets.  
>"So...you hung out with Seifer's gang today...?" Pence asked awkwardly, looking over his shoulder.<p>

"N-no...it's not like that." Roxas responded, noticing that Hayner hadn't even stopped walking. "Oh yeah! How was the beach? Wasn't...that today?"

"We didn't go." Olette shrugged. "It wouldn't have been the same without you, right?"

"Oh..." Roxas didn't know what to say. "Sorry..."

Pence and Olette shrugged, Hayner increased the distance between him and everyone else.

"Hey! How about we go tomorrow!" Roxas suggested. "We could get those pretzels and-"

"I promised I'd be somewhere." Hayner stopped walking long enough to reply.

"Oh..." Roxas had nothing to say, especially after remembering that tomorrow was the Struggle match and he was the one who promised to be there with Hayner.

"I'm outta here..." Hayner turned a corner and disappeared.

Pence and Olette said their quiet goodbyes to Roxas, and headed home as well, leaving Roxas to stand in the empty streets of Twilight Town, wondering when everything had gone so wrong.

* * *

><p><em>RESTORATION AT 48%<em>

"Was that Naminé made of data?" the black-cloak asked.

"No... Naminé hijacked the data herself." the red-cloak spoke through gritted teeth, and gestured over the computer consoles angrily. "Look what she's done now! She's totally beyond my control!"

The red-cloaked man punched one of the keyboard in fury.

"Calm down." the black cloak said.

"It doesn't matter..." the red cloak took a breath. "As long as Naminé accomplishes her goal, we needn't worry about what befalls Roxas."


	4. The Thirteenth Struggle

_Vacations are good for writing. Somewhat._

_**Chapter IV: The Thirteenth Struggle  
><strong>__Home is where I want to be,  
><em>_pick me up and turn me 'round,  
><em>_I feel numb  
><em>_burn with a weak heart,  
><em>_guess we must be having fun.  
><em>_The less we say about it the better,  
><em>_make it up as we go along.  
><em>_Feet on the ground,  
><em>_head in the sky,  
><em>_it's ok.  
><em>_I know nothing's wrong...  
><em>_nothing..._

_~ Talking Heads, "This Must be the Place"_

_**The Fourth Day**_

"_It's up to me."_

_A castle, blurry, and seemingly endless, stretching and climbing in every direction._

"_So, your heart won this battle?"_

_A massive beast, a cloaked figure._

_Glitch in, glitch out._

"_It is I, Ansem."_

"_Lead me into everlasting darkness!_

_Widespread arms._

"_Forget it! There's no way you're taking Kairi's heart!"_

_An open challenge._

_Kairi?_

_A sacrifice of the young boy to save the girl._

_Kairi?_

_The smiling, round, face of a young redhead appeared, her dark blue eyes completed, startlingly, brilliantly, clear._

"_Take this. It's my lucky charm, be sure to bring it back to me."_

"_Don't ever forget, wherever you go, I'm always with you."_

Roxas sighed.

"Right...promise..." Roxas swung his arm in front of him, as if swinging a struggle bat, and remembered the day before. "What a mess..."

* * *

><p>The sandlot of Twilight Town was decked out in every color and shape imaginable. The air smelled strongly of amusement park—a smell made up almost entirely of cotton candy, with only a dash of fried food and fireworks on the side. Shops were set up all along the lot and out into the connecting streets. Children chased each other through the shifting crowd, while barkers called out the chances for games of luck. The annual end of summer Struggle festivals was the main event of the Town, and that fact was most definitely being taken advantage of.<p>

What Roxas was mostly concerned with, though, was the huge, raised platform that sat in the center of it all. Set up very much like a wrestling arena, it resembled a huge, rectangular mat with elastic ropes hooked all around it to provide a ring. It was here that the more athletic denizens of Twilight Town would duel each other in the town's official sport: Struggle.

"Ahem, ah, is this on? Hello?" The mayor of Twilight Town, a somewhat pudgy man with a large mustache, stood inside the Struggle ring—just high enough to be seen by the whole crowd. He spoke into the microphone with confidence, knowing that he could now be heard. "Ladies and gentlemen! Struggle-fiends of Twilight Town! It's time for the summer's most sizzling clash!" Roxas thought he might have remembered something about the mayor being a radio announcer before being elected. "That's right! Today is the day of the annual Struggle Match!"

Fireworks went off somewhere in the background.

"Who will be the one to break through the ranks and challenge our champion, Setzer?"

From somewhere in the crowed, Roxas thought he heard a reply. "Seifer, y'know?"

Ugh.

"And who-" the mayor continued. "Will leave today as our new struggle champion!"

From all across the crowd voices, mostly young and mostly female, cried out. "Seeettzeerr!"

Roxas groaned as, from behind the mayor, a man in his early twenties appeared. He had long silver hair, combed away to fall all the way down his back. He wore extravagant, colorful clothing and had a cape slung over his right shoulder, along with the large, brown, Struggle Champion Belt. He walked with an arrogance that Roxas, knowing Seifer, was already far too well familiar with. Roxas was never a fan of Setzer.

"The crowd is fired up!" The mayor raised his arms. "So you all know what time it is!"

In unison, the crowd screamed. "STRUGGLE!"

The day had begun.

The first two contenders climbed into the ring. Each had a long, foam-covered bat, and were covered in something that resembled a parachute vest. Brown straps ran under their shoulders and across their stomachs and chests. Each strap was covered in a velcro-like material, which allowed dozens of little colored balls to be attached to each fighter. The goal of the Struggle was to end the timed rounds with more balls still attached to your vest than your opponent, which is accomplished by repeatedly whacking your opponent with your foam bat, attempting to knock the balls off. It was a fun sport, especially for young, teenage boys, who have the instinctual desire to hit each other all of the time.

The champion of the Annual Struggle Match was hailed as a celebrity for the rest of the year, and admired by most everyone in the town. This, also, was especially important to young, teenage boys who were soon to be going back to High School with young, teenage girls.

Not particularly interested in either of the first two fighters, Roxas turned away to find Pence and Olette, and hopefully, Hayner.

* * *

><p>Roxas sighed and let more of the cotton candy melt into his mouth. It was getting into late afternoon, now, and the last match before the finals was wrapping up. He absently rubbed a bruise on his ribs(he'd still won the match!) and scanned the crowd again for Hayner.<p>

"Sorry, Roxas, I don't think you're gonna find him" Olette said sadly.

Pence nodded, taking a large bite of his popsicle. "You know how Hayner is! He'll get over it eventually. Probably after beating it into you if you face each other in the finals!" Pence added.

Roxas looked back at the ground, sadly. He had only seen Hayner during his matches. When Roxas had gone to congratulate his friend and hopefully explain the day before, Hayner had disappeared. He was definitely avoiding Roxas.

The cheer of the crowd alerted Roxas to the fact that the current match had just ended, and he glanced up to see the tall form of Seifer standing over his defeated opponent.

"And with that exciting finish, folks, I can announce our finalists!" the announcer called out. "First, the obvious! Our regular finalist and head of the Twilight Disciplinary Committee: SEIFER!"

The crowd cheered and Seifer strutted off the platform with a smirk.

"Completely out of nowhere—who knew he'd make it so far THIS year? VIVI!" the announcer continued. The crowd responded with an excited, but subdued, almost confused, response. Indeed, it had surprised everyone that the short, quiet kid, who's face was completely invisible due to his hat and collar, had gotten to the Finals this year.

"Thirdly, we've got an underground favorite and local attitude problem: HAYNER!" the crowd cheered, but no one seemed to know where Hayner was.

"And finalist number four, who happens to be my absolutely favorite customer-" the announcer smiled in Roxas' direction. "ROXAS!"

Roxas looked up and mustered a smile and wave in reply to the crowd's cheering

"So—who will win this sweltering summer struggle? And who will take home the grand prize?"the announcer hoisted an elaborate trophy, four different colored orbs attached to four separate arms, above his head. "The summa cum laude of Struggle—the Four Crystal Trophy! And a chance to taken on our defending champion, Setzer!"

The crowd cheered, Roxas sighed.

"LET'S STRUGGLE!" the announcer nearly screamed, and the large crowd responded in like and began to churn and move to let the four finalists forward. With most of the focus on Seifer and Hayner, Roxas was able to slip the front without attention, which was fine by him.

When he reached the front of the crowd, Roxas shrugged on the velcro vest that was handed to him, and began to strategically attach his set of balls. Without noticing his approach, Roxas suddenly realized Hayner was next to him. Should he say something? Would Hayner say something?

"Hey...sorry...about yesterday..." Roxas mumbled.

"What, you still worried about that?" Hayner bumped Roxas on the back of the head with his struggle bat. "You need to learn to let that stuff go, man."

Roxas smirked slightly and shrugged. "Well, I got a lot on my mind."

Hayner sensed the seriousness in Roxas' tone. "Sorr—wait, what I am sorry for? It'll make you easier to beat!"

Roxas snorted and Hayner chuckled.

"Good luck, Hayner."

"Right back 'atcha"

* * *

><p>Roxas and Hayner's duel was the longest yet of the Struggle Tournament, and came close to setting a record for most time elapsed. Eventually, however, Roxas' slight edge won out. Roxas had always been a marginally better fighter than Hayner, although no one knew quite why and it frustrated Hayner to no end. No matter how much he trained, Roxas always seemed to win somehow.<p>

"Not even friendship can slow this kid down!" The announcer commented as Roxas helped Hayner back to his feet.

"Dammit! I lost!" Hayner moaned. "I can't believe it. I guess I taught you well!"

Roxas half-smiled. "I had a lot of fun fighting you."

"Yeah, well, I didn't, wise guy." Hayner sighed.

Roxas put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Hey, let's find a way to cheer you up."

Hayner smirked and, in the blink of an eye, laid a tremendous gut punch directly into Roxas' solar-plexus. "Naw, that's enough."

Roxas hacked, and while the punch hadn't, on purpose, been strong enough to keel him over, he had to take a moment to catch his breath. Roxas bit out a smile. He would be mad at Hayner if he wasn't too busy imagining how mad _Olette_ would be at him.

As Hayner headed back into the crowd, it parted for Seifer. Hayner looked up at Seifer, and Seifer down at him for but a moment.

"What? You in a hurry to lose?" Hayner smiled.

Seifer sneered back at him without a word.

"Hehe..."

Roxas jumped with the chill the shot down his spine. Suddenly, Vivi was next to him. Had that creepy laugh been him? Roxas couldn't quite tell, and Vivi wasn't acknowledging anyone but Seifer, cold, yellow eyes focused on the older boy. Roxas had always been unnerved at the fact that no one he knew of had ever seen Vivi's face, even Seifer, enshrouded as it was underneath his wide-brimmed hat.

Seifer, seemingly uncaring, glared beyond Hayner and back at Vivi. "Don't mess with you elders."

"Woah! Look at those sparks fly!" The announcer whistled. "I guess Seifer didn't expect to fight one of his own boys!"

With a slight mock bow, Roxas stepped back off the platform and waited while Hayner and Vivi suited up. No sooner had Seifer locked his last ball into place than did Vivi leap across the platform and begin swinging wildly at him. The crowd gasped and Seifer, caught completely off guard and on the defensive, was forced back, stumbling. Vivi was bouncing and flipping at every angle, forcing Seifer to swing more and more haphazardly, in hopes of stopping at least some of Vivi's strikes from connecting.

"When did Vivi get so tough...?" Hayner whispered. Everyone shrugged.

Suddenly, Vivi jumped straight up and spun in the air. His bat cracked against Seifer's body and sent the older boy tumbling across the platform, his balls scattering.

Hayner giggled slightly in the silence of the crowd. "Hehe...looks like Seifer lost his balls!"

Olette slapped him in the back of the head.

"I'm...I'm not sure what just happened..." The announcer reported hesitantly, as Vivi walked nonchalantly to the edge of the platform and Seifer emitted a low groan. "Ummm...but...ah, Vivi is the winner! In a positively blistering comeback!"

Roxas, Olette and Pence ran around to the other side of the platform. Hayner hung back a bit, and Fuu and Rai were already by Seifer's side, offering him bottled water.

"Seifer, what-" Pence began.

"That's not Vivi..." Seifer mumbled, glaring at Roxas with an eye already turning black and blue. "Thrash 'im."

With a nod, Fuu and Rai lifted Seifer up and helped him off the platform and into the crowd.

Again, Roxas felt a chill on his spine. Across the platform, Vivi was staring at him now.

"Hey!" Hayner stepped in front of Roxas, blocking the disturbing glare. "We've got some time before you face Vivi, let's do something to get your mind off it."

"Yeah...sure..." Roxas half-heartedly responded, standing up on the balls of his feet to see Vivi over Hayner's shoulder, but Vivi was gone.

* * *

><p>Roxas swallowed as he stood across the platform from Vivi, the cold taste of sea-salt ice cream still fresh in his mouth. It was relaxing.<p>

"And now! The match you've been waiting for: Roxas vs. Vivi!" The announcer worked at the crowd.

Roxas twisted his bat into a ready position, unsure of what to expect. Vivi hadn't moved yet, and with the speed and ferocity that he had attacked Seifer with earlier, Roxas wasn't taking any chances. However, Vivi still didn't move and, now that Roxas noticed it, no one else was moving either. No cheers, no waving arms, no smell of fried foods. Everything had ceased.

Vivi still blinked though.

"What...what are you!" Roxas yelled across the platform. After a short period of no response, Vivi's body suddenly contorted in terrifying angles, bending at the shoulders and chest. His elbows bent back the wrong way, and his back cracked into a right angle before straightening again. Vivi seemed to be made of fluid, the way his body twisted and turned. Finally, his body thinned and turned a gray white. A large mouth emerged from the face, edged in zippers.

The monsters again! Roxas felt his blood run cold. More of the creatures appeared beside the ex-Vivi thing.

Roxas felt the bat weigh heavier in his hand, and he looked down to see that the bat had again turned into the silver and gold Keyblade. Realizing one of the creatures was writhing toward him, Roxas dived out of the way and slashed at the approaching creatures, cleaving it in two. He could see frozen Hayner, Pence and Olette from his new vantage point, but couldn't stop to study them, as the two other creatures were creeping towards him.

Both came at him from two opposing angles, and Roxas barely found it within himself to dive forward onto the rough wood of the Struggle platform. Rolling over, Roxas watched the two creatures switch directions immediately and swim through the air towards him. Surprising himself, Roxas flipped the Keyblade immediately back and forth, like a switch, succinctly decapitating both creatures. With a thud and skid, their bodies crashed into the ground on either side of Roxas.

The sound of slow clapping echoed through the silence, and Roxas felt his relaxing body tense up again.

"Roxas, all right! Fight fight fight!" a smooth voice said from behind Roxas. The voice sounded like oil to Roxas, slick in all the right places. Confidence overflowed from the voice, as well, demanding that Roxas look and see from where it had originated. Turning, Roxas saw a black cloaked figure, just like the man who took the train money the day before. In comparison, this man was, however, much more slight. His whole torso was incredibly thin, and his lanky arms reached far down his body.

"You really don't remember?" the cloaked man sighed, reaching for his hood. "It's me, y'now-Axel." As the man pulled the hood off, thick, slicked-back tufts of red hair sprung out from underneath it. A smirk below teardrop tattoos beneath bright green eyes all stood out to Roxas, and spoke to something he didn't quite understand. This man immediately resonated with Roxas, but he couldn't quite place how or why.

"Axel..." Roxas wondered aloud.

"Talk about blank with a capital "b"! Man oh man, even the Dusks aren't gonna crack this one..." Axel shrugged, rolled his eyes and splayed his fingers. Whirling spheres of fire formed themselves into two red chakram in each of Axel's hands. Each had eight deadly spikes jutting out around the edges of its outer circle, and within, several more small circles interconnected themselves into an intricate design.  
>"Wait a sec!" Roxas yelled, starting to panic slightly. "Tell me what's going on!"<br>Axel's eyes roamed the frozen town around him. "This town is his creation, right? Which means we don't have time for a Q and A."  
>Roxas felt his mind lag behind. What was going on?<p>

"You're coming with me, conscious or not! Then you'll hear the story." Axel settled himself into a lazy stance, shifting back and forth onto each of his feet, and holding his chakrams loosely with his fingers.

As Roxas kept trying to process what was going on, and why it seemed that this red-headed guy wanted to fight him, the world suddenly started to churn and twist around him.

"Uh oh!" Axel twisted with alarm. "We don't have time for this! Just c'mon!"

Feeling his frustration boil over, Roxas tossed the Keyblade across the Struggle platform and screamed. "What is going on!"

Before the Keyblade even hit the ground, it vanished in a flash of light and reappeared in Roxas' hand. Stunned, Roxas could only stare at in with a mixture of confusion and awe.  
>"Number Thirteen: Roxas." Roxas could hear the smile in Axel's voice. "The Keyblade's chosen one!"<p>

"Okay, fine!" Roxas took a defensive stance. "You asked for it!"

Axel grinned. "Did I?" and suddenly, in a flash of darkness, Axel was standing in front of Roxas. Before Roxas could even register what was happening, Axel's boot was on Roxas' chest and Roxas was flying across the platform.  
>"Do I ring any bells yet?" Axel jeered from what was now a large distance.<p>

Roxas stumbled to his feet and, with a yell, charged at Axel. At the very last possible second, Roxas felt himself swing through nothing and saw Axel reappear in another flash of darkness, this time behind him. He felt Axel take a hold of him by the collar and toss him across the platform again.

"C'mon, Roxas! You were better than this!"

Roxas groaned and pulled himself to his feet for another charge, when he was suddenly blocked from Axel by a swirl of green numbers. The numbers twisted and turned and with an odd click, formed themselves into a man. This man was covered in a large, red cloak, with several belts decorating his torso. His face was completely covered by red sheets of cloth, except for one yellow eye that glared at Axel.

"So it was you!" Axel declared, swinging his chakrams behind him before tossing them, wreathed in flame, at the red-cloaked man. The red-cloaked man didn't even flinch as the chakrams deflected off of some kind of invisible shield. His one yellow eye looked over its shoulder at Roxas.

"Roxas, this man speaks nonsense!"

"Roxas, don't let him deceive you!" Axel called from across the platform.  
>Roxas looked back and forth at the two men calling his name, his frustration and confusion mixing and growing again.<p>

"Roxas!"

"Roxas!"

"Roxas!"

Roxas closed his eyes, stomped his foot and screamed. He had had enough. "Hayner! Pence! Olette!"  
>Suddenly, the noises of the crowd returned to Roxas' ears. He blinked open his eyes and saw Vivi laying dizzied on his back in front of Roxas. The crowd was cheering, and there was no sign of Axel or of the red-cloaked man.<p>

"Roxas! Great job!" Olette was the first on stage to congratulate him, followed by Pence and then Hayner. Beyond his friends, he saw Vivi sit up and glance around confusedly before waddling away. Everything was moving to quickly for Roxas, and Hayner, Pence and Olette were being escorted offstage already. "Roxas! Look alive! It's starting!" Pence whispered as he was forced by the Struggle officials to merge back into the crowd.  
>"Seeeeeetttzzzzeerrrrr!" Roxas turned toward the noise of a dozen girls swooning, definitely reminding him of the girls who would always crush on Riku. Wait? Did he know a Riku? Wasn't he from his dreams?<p>

"Hey, rucksack...how about you throw the match for me?" Roxas looked up at the ornately dressed Setzer, current champion of the Struggle, smirking arrogantly. With something finally to focus on, Roxas let all the mind-destroying confusion drift away.

"Let me win, and I'll make it worth your while." Setzer continued.

"Get real!" Roxas replied, readying his struggle bat. He noticed for the first time that it was no longer the Keyblade, but didn't bother to wonder when the change had occurred.

"Underdog Roxas versus defending champion Setzer! Whoever wins will be our true champion!" the announcer began to work up the crowd. "That's bragging rights for a full year, folks!"

Setzer sighed, and looked as though he was tired of all of the things around him. "Whatever you think is right, you're wrong. And that is a big mistake."

Roxas grinned himself. "Well, then I think you're gonna win."

Setzer's look of confusion for just a moment gave Roxas both the satisfaction and surprise edge he needed to start the match in his favor, and hopefully end it in the same way.

* * *

><p>Roxas fingered the the rough leather of the Championship belt as he looked out over the sunset washed town. He, Hayner, Pence and Olette were sitting atop the Clock Tower, above the train station, and were celebrating Roxas' victory over Setzer with some delicious Sea-Salt Ice Cream. The clock tower was a favorite evening hang out for the group. It was isolated, far above the town, so the four could look down on everything else in their lives and just relax, covered by the reds and oranges of the twilight sun, knowing that, for just right now, they were separate. Apart. Just them. All four sat with their legs dangling off the edge, which was quite a drop to the bricks below. But none of them were ever worried, they had been up along the clock tower's edges too many times to worry about worry.<p>

Roxas placed the championships belt on his lap and reached behind him for the Four-Crystal Trophy. With a quick snap, he broke off all four colored orbs and handed one to each of his friends. Pence got the emerald, Hayner got the ruby, Roxas kept the sapphire and Olette received the amber.

"As promised." Roxas smiled.

Pence rolled the gem in his hand. "Thanks, Roxas!"

"One more treasure for us to share." Hayner said, as he lifted his gem to the sun and watched the reflections dance. Pence and Olette slowly followed suit, but Roxas however, hands sticky from the ice cream, let the sapphire drop slightly. As he grasped for it, Roxas lost his seating and felt himself slip from the tower and, grasping for his friends, begin to plummet to the ground below.

Glitch In.

Glitch Out.

* * *

><p><em>I'm so sorry for how long this took, guys! I'm graduating from community college in May, and I've been busy with my final courses, applications to schools and scholarships and getting all my plans in line. Working two jobs also severely cuts back on my free time.<br>However, spring break has come to my rescue!_

Hope life is treating all of you well, thank you for reading! : )

_~Mars_


	5. Losing Myself

_**Chapter V: Losing Myself  
><strong>Gone are the days of summer-  
>we couldn't change it if we tried-<br>why would we want to?  
>Let's go where we got to,<br>our paths will cross again in time.  
>~Demi Lovato, "Our Time is Here"<em>

Kairi Yureru walked home from school every day. Her home on Destiny Islands lay just down the road and over the hill from her school, and she rather enjoyed the glimpse of the gorgeous sun she would get as soon as she crested the hill. The walk up the dark side of the hill was always shadowed and just a little bit chilly, but the warmness of the sun as she reached the crown; the distinctive change that occurred in both temperature and vision—it was all too spectacular to her.

Today, Kairi was still working her way up the hill, her mind preoccupied with thoughts of a certain boy. If these thoughts had just been the typical crush-on-a-boy, High-School-girl thoughts, than, while perhaps odd for Kairi, it would not have been abnormal for your typical High School girl(for example, the pig-tailed Selphie who was currently calling for Kairi to slow down, a demand that Kairi only just heard on the edges of her consciousness). But these thoughts were not typical. These thoughts were desperate. Kairi was desperately trying to remember somebody. Someone—a boy-that she, similar to Selphie's voice, only realized on the edge of her consciousness.

"Kairi! Can't you hear me?" Selphie panted as she finally caught up to her friend.

"Oh!" Kairi replied, startled. "Sorry, Selphie, I was...thinking."

"It's ok!" Selphie smiled brightly, easily glossing over Kairi's cryptic response."Hey, do you feel like going out out to Kinshou? Tidus and Wakka are all wrapped up in their ballgame and they won't go with me!"

"Not today, sorry! Dad wants to plan for my party, you know how he is!" Kairi responded, disappointed to have to deny her friend. Her father, the Mayor of Destiny Islands, _was_ currently obsessed with planning for his daughter's birthday party in two weeks, and he had told her that morning that planning was the plan for the afternoon, but Kairi also had alternative reasons for not wanting to go to Kinshou. Too many things were tied up there in her heart.

"Aw..." Selphie's face fell, and Kairi decided that she owed Selphie a little more of an explanation.

"You remember Riku, right?"

"Of course I do!" Selphie responded. "It's only been a year! I wonder what happened to him? I sure miss him..."  
>Kairi missed him too. Riku had disappeared over a year ago and, while it was all a little foggy to Kairi—like a memory that her heart couldn't quite place—she knew that something important had happened to him. His poor family had been devastated. Still, though, the memories of Riku pulled at her...<p>

"He's far away..." Kairi smiled into the sun as she and Selphie reached the top of the hill. "But I'm sure we'll see him again. And the other boy...? Do you remember him?"

Selphie's lip scrunched up and her brow furrowed."What other boy?

"The one who was always with Riku and me all the time? We used to play together on Kinshou..." Kairi frowned as she thought about the boy out loud. "his voice always used to be there...but now it's gone. I can't think of his face...or his name..." frustration edged into her voice. "I feel awful about it...so I told myself—and this is part of the reason I can't go with you today—I'm not going to the island, to Kinshou, until I remember everything about him."

Selphie looked at Kairi hesitantly, and the part of Kairi that read Selphie's face regretted having said anything. "Are you sure you didn't just make him up?"

"No, I'm sure I-" Kairi started, but a voice echoed around her and interrupted her thoughts.

"Naminé...?"

The voice was scarily familiar, but also so different. Kairi searched her surroundings to see where it had come from, but no one was around except her and Selphie, who, by the looks of it, had not heard the voice.

"Who's there?" Kairi asked.

* * *

><p>Roxas could feel the air slipping around his body as he tumbled toward the stone ground of the Train Station Common. To him, it felt like he had been falling for minutes—far longer than it would take to fall from the top of the tower. Above him, he could see Hayner, Pence and Olette still on the tower, but they didn't seem to have noticed his fall. He could feel this girl though, in these endless minutes, he felt another presence, somehow similar to the white-dressed Naminé<p>

"Naminé...what's happening to me?" Roxas asked the presence, grasping for some order—some sense to be made in his increasingly senseless world.

"Who are you...? And my name isn't Naminé, it's Kairi!"

"Kairi...?" Roxas trailed off, before he connected the name to his dreams. "Kairi! I know you! You're that girl he likes!"

Roxas felt the presence startle, and the excitement—the instant desire—became palpable in her voice. "Who? Who is he? Please, a name!"

Still falling, Roxas felt what could only be described as the world flicker around him like a light switch being turned on and off rapidly.

"I'm...I'm...Roxas..." Roxas mumbled a reply, feeling his grasp on reality slip.

"Okay, Roxas." the voice acknowledged. "But can you tell me HIS name?"

Glitch.

Suddenly, Roxas felt a new voice erupt around him, a voice that clearly came through a smile. "You don't remember my name? Thanks a lot, Kairi!"

Roxas heard the girl-Kairi-gasp at the new voice; high and merry, with the aftertaste of laughter.

"I guess I can give you a hint!" the new voice nearly sang. "Starts with an 'S'!"

Roxas had no time to think before the ground met him and the world disappeared.

* * *

><p>"Kairi? Kairi! Are you okay?"<p>

Kairi blinked awake, surprised to see Selphie kneeling above her, face cast in concern, and even more surprised to feel the packed dirt beneath her body. Had she collapsed?

"You were just standing here and then you just fell!" Selphie cried.

Kairi blinked slowly, barely registering what Selphie was saying. Starts with an 's'? Suddenly, to Kairi, everything connected. A sudden feeling of urgency and rightness came over her, like some shield had been lifted from her eyes and she could see things plainly. A racing cacophony of thoughts and realizations crashed through her brain—pieces falling into place again, mazes straightening. Starting from the night of the meteor shower when she washed up on the shores of Destiny Islands up until the current day—everything had purpose. She couldn't imagine what Selphie must have thought when Kairi gave her the most realization-leaden face she had ever made and wordlessly sprinted for the beach.

It was time. Kairi couldn't even register all the thoughts that overflowed her mind, her feet running in a pace that could only hope to keep up. Houses passed in blurs, people moved as colored shapes, nothing mattered to Kairi but the beach at the end of the path. Not realizing when or where she had lost her shoes, Kairi felt her feet sink into the soft beach sand and she hopped to take off her socks, attempting not to slow her run in the least. Socks scattered to who-knows-where, Kairi didn't stop running until her she splashed into the warm blue ocean water, and even then, not until it was up to her knees. Putting all the built up force from her run behind it, Kairi reached into her satchel and took out a green, corked, bottle and launched it as hard and as far as she could into the ocean. Only when that movement was complete did Kairi even stop to take a breath.

"Ka..Kaaa...Kairiiii..." Kairi heard Selphie pant behind her on the shore. "What was...what was that about...?"

Kairi barely contained her smile, looking out to the sea where she could still just see the bottle bobbing in the clear water. "A letter...I wrote it yesterday, to the boy I can't remember. It told him that no matter where he is, I'll find him. We'll find each other. And when I stopped writing, I remembered that we had made a promise...something important. This letter is where it'll start."

"Wow...I...I hope he gets it!" Selphie still gasped.

Kairi nodded, gleaming. "He will. Right, Sora?"

* * *

><p><em>RESTORATION AT 79%<em>

"His progress is astounding!" The red coat glanced excitedly over a mass of computer monitors.

The black coat threw a bright blue spherical jewel into the air, caught it, and placed it inside of the pouch he held. "So what happened?"

"Naminé's encounter with Roxas put his heart in contact with Kairi's. And that, in turn, affected Sora! It's simply marvelous!"

"Naminé...she's a wonder."

"She wasn't born like the other Nobodies. She can interfere with hearts and memories...particularly, those of Sora and those aligned with him because of the Castle Oblivion incident."

"But who's Nobody is she?" the black coat asked.

"I could tell you...but first, perhaps you could tell me your true name?"

The black coat paused for a moment before reaching up and pulling his hood down to his neck, releasing long, silver hair to fall down his back, and revealing deep yellow eyes in tan skin to stare at the red coat. "My name is Ansem."

The red coat paused for a moment, before snorting and laughing a hearty and deep laugh.

"It's an honor, Ansem!"

* * *

><p>"Get rid of him? Seriously? Aren't we just jumping the gun a little?" Axel questioned the two black cloaks seated above him, high in their white thrones, each at a different levels—Number I and Number III, and here he was, lowly Number VIII.<p>

"It's an order." Number III droned, with a hint of malice in his voice. "Why are you hesitating? Are you not the one who dealt swift, merciless judgment to those who turned on our Organization?"

Axel retaliated swiftly, he could handle Three, he just prayed One would not involve himself. "He hasn't turned his back on us! He's just...in a bit of a situation!"

"If he doesn't come back..." A long, pale spear appeared in the air beside Three, pointed directly at Axel. "He must pay the price. Not dissimilar to you, if you continue to oppose these orders."

Axel refused to flinch when the spear, its movement nearly invisible to the eye, embedded itself in the throne beside Axel's head. Before Axel could respond, One raised his hand and waved off Three, who dissolved his spear. One turned his shaded, black hood toward Axel and simply stared at him. Through him. The emptiness pulled, ached, at Axel more than usual.

Finally, Axel looked down and away, unable to keep eye contact. "Use the Dusks..." he mumbled, defeated.

One did not move.

"Fine...fine...I got it..." Axel grimaced and allowed a sphere of darkness to appear around him; to disappear into. To hide.

When had he become such a softie?

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Fifth Day<strong>_

Roxas startled and tumbled out of bed, crashing into the floor. Slowly, his thrashing and grasping at nothing slowed as he realized where he was. What had happened to the tower? What had happened to his fall? Hadn't he fallen? Hadn't he...?

Then how was he here?

Roxas laid still on the floor, wood digging into his back, eyes blankly examining the ceiling without really examining it. How...? And the girl...? Were they all just dreams? Were they all real? Why was his life falling apart?

He felt too lost to stand, too confused to involve himself in life. He felt like all his strengths, all his foundations, all of his reason and the world around him, were crumbling to nothing.

Roxas lay still, and couldn't understand why even a single tear— from frustration, fear, sorrow—wouldn't come. At least that would make some measure of sense in his increasingly senseless world.

* * *

><p>"Only three days left of summer vacation, so don't even mention that assignment!" Roxas slowly parted the curtain to the Usual Place, finding Hayner arguing with Olette.<p>

"But we agreed we'd get it finished today!" Olette replied, resolute.

Roxas slowly dropped himself onto the couch next to Pence. "I...yesterday, I fell off the station tower, didn't I?"

Pence snorted. "You wouldn't be here if you did, but man, that was a close one..."

A close one? Before Roxas could ask more, Olette was in his and Pence's faces. "C'mon! Tell Hayner we need to get this assignment done! I'm not getting an 'F' because he's a lazy bum!"

"Please, Hayner?" Pence mock-begged. "Please just do it so Olette will shut up about it?"

Olette knocked Pence on the head. Pence just chuckled.

"Ugh, fine. We'll do the stupid independent study...as long as I don't come up with the topic." Hayner sighed.

"Well, there are some strange rumors going around town..." Pence spoke up. "Like the stone steps at Sunset station; apparently they count differently going up and down!"

"Seriously?" Hayner jumped up, interested now that the study had become a mystery.  
>"-AND," Pence added, "there are six other weird stories like that. It's like..." he paused and cleared his throat, obviously for drama, "the seven wonders of Twilight Town!"<p>

Roxas thought Pence was completely ridiculous.

"Alright! We're definitely going to investigate those for our project!" Hayner said excitedly. "I think you and Roxas should go investigate those rumors we know about-" Hayner coughed a little into his hand, "and, uh, Olette and I will go looking for new rumors!"

Roxas shrugged and walked off with Pence, feeling the hopelessness begin to dissipate. His friends were still here, still the same. Roxas released the last of his frustration with a sigh—his friends would be his true foundation.

* * *

><p>The first wonder turned out to be a complete bust when Pence sheepishly explained that Rai, who had started the rumor, probably just miscounted the steps.<p>

"So you knew this the whole time?"

"Ahhh...yes?"

"So why are we here?"

"Because I thought it would interest Hayner enough that we could get this project done for Olette?"

Roxas rolled his eyes at Pence's slight blush. This was gonna be a fantastic afternoon.

* * *

><p>The second wonder involved strange sightings in an alley in the town's northwestern quarter. It was said that strange creatures would sometimes walk out of the alley walls and disappear back into them as if they didn't exist. Roxas had no idea how they would empirically test this rumor in an afternoon, but Pence seemed to think that sitting and glaring into the alley for five minutes was study enough. It was only when Pence turned his back that Roxas might've noticed a glimpse of white and glowing yellow in the deepest, darkest recesses of the alley.<p>

* * *

><p>The third wonder was a strange voice that echoed in the tram tunnel.<p>

It was just Vivi practicing for Struggle.

* * *

><p>Pence sent Roxas ahead to study the fourth wonder while Pence got them some drinks. Roxas was supposed to investigate a strange shadow that seemed to hide behind the ornamental waterfall at the bottom of Sunset Hill. He passively stared into his reflection in the falling water, until he swore he started to imagine the reflection moving on its own, with only the hints of darkness at its edges. One blurry hand slowly lifted and grasped out of the waterfall, just swiping slowly at Roxas' face. Roxas stumbled back and when he looked up, the water was too chaotic to provide any reflection. Had it always been like that?<p>

Roxas told Pence when he caught up that the waterfall rumor was a bust.

* * *

><p>The fifth wonder took Roxas and Pence to the top of Sunset Hill, where Roxas' fear that Pence really didn't know what "wonder" meant came to a head. The fifth wonder was, simply, a dog inside of a bag that everyone had thought was moving on its own. Roxas didn't bridge the question with Pence why a dog had been tied up inside a bag to begin with, in fact, Roxas didn't bridge much of anything with Pence—he just sighed, massaged his forehead and wandered to the edge of the hill to watch the trains pass.<p>

It was about four-thirty in the afternoon, sunset splaying orange across the sky, and Roxas realized for the first time that his blue jewel from the the trophy was missing. He didn't mention it out loud, though, for fear that Pence would take it too seriously and attribute it to some ridiculous "eighth wonder".

"You know, Pence...that last wonder..." Roxas started.

"I understand! Say no more!" Pence responded. "This next one is gonna be really great, though! Wonder Number six!"

"The Ghost Train Mystery, right?" Olette interjected, just arriving with Hayner.

Roxas perked up. Here was something with some basis! This was a mystery people actually talked about! Trains were a huge part of Twilight's Town's history, and so it was inevitable that a folk tale or two revolving around them would pop up in the public consciousness.

"You can see it from here, right?" Olette ran up beside Roxas to point down at the tracks that ran through the heart of the hill. "If the rumors are true, it should be here any minute—at sunset!"

"For they say the train is empty. No driver. No conductor. No passengers. No return!" Pence menaced.

Roxas ignored Pence's dramatics and leaned over the edge of the wooden railings to watch. Everyone else settled themselves into comfortable position on the ground to wait for the train. One minute turned into five which turned into ten which turned into thirty, which actually felt like sixty. Conversations started and died, clouds were analyzed, and next summer's plans were discussed while the wasting of this summer was mourned.

"Good afternoon, slackers." Dammit, Roxas thought, Seifer. "What are you all doing out here?"

"What do you care?" Olette asked, not taking her eyes off the sky.

Seifer shrugged. "I don't. Tell me anyway."

"We're, ah, waiting for the Ghost Train." Pence spoke up for some reason Roxas couldn't comprehend.

Seifer laughed. "Wow, I can't believe how gullible you are!"

Roxas let his eyes slide back to Seifer, catching his dark ones. Seifer sneered. "Why does looking at you always tick me off?"

Roxas shrugged himself, turning back to the train rails, and just spoke what overflowed from his heart. "I dunno...maybe it's destiny."

"Destiny...?" Seifer was quiet for a moment. "In that case, let's be friends. I don't feel like cooperating with destiny."

"When have you ever cooperated with anything?" Hayner asked, offensively.

Seifer shrugged and walked away, without any retort. Roxas didn't notice however, because a train was passing underneath him. The train has a red body, where the conductor and driver would stand, while the long green cylindrical part of the train plowed forward. A long passenger seating area extended back from the body was also colored green. Most important to Roxas, though, was the fact that the train clearly had no driver or passengers. "Look!" Roxas gestured frantically at his friends who were still looking after Seifer confusedly. "It's really true! C'mon! What's the catch! There's gotta be a catch right?" Roxas glanced excitedly from Olette to Hayner to Pence, who all just stared back at him blankly. "So it's real? Let's get to the station, c'mon! It's headed there!"

Roxas, excited that this day had finally amounted to something, pushed through his friends and ran toward the nearest station, at the bottom of Sunset Hill. Yes! From here, he could still see the mysterious train pulling into the station! Roxas vaulted over the last of the hill's ledges and slid to a stop in front of the station. He pushed through the heavy doors of the small building(in comparison to the main station) and, sure enough, there sat the train, awaiting boarding passengers. As he walked towards it slowly, cautiously, he heard his friends enter the station behind him. "I wanna try and go in." Roxas almost whispered, not knowing why. Just as he took another few steps toward the train, he felt Hayner pull him back.

"What? What're you doing?" Roxas asked, uncharacteristically annoyed at Hayner's interruption.

"Uh, what are _you_ doing, Roxas? You'll get yourself killed!" Hayner responded, nodding in direction of the train.

"Huh?" Roxas looked back at the train, or rather, where the train had been been. Instead of the green and red train, a female voice chimed_ "The Five-Fifteen is arriving. Please step away from the tracks."_ and a plain, brown train pulled into the station.

Roxas felt his stomach drop, and a chill run down his spine.

"I..I...don't..."

Pence put his hand on Roxas' shoulder."It's been a long day, Roxas, we should head home." he said quietly.

Roxas ripped his should away from Pence, sensing the pity in his voice. He _had_ seen a train. It was _there_! He was about to _touch it_! No way did he just make that up. No way wasn't it there. It couldn't be...

"No, Pence! The train was there! You were right! It was red and green and no one was driving! You mean you guys never saw it?" Roxas questioned desperately; he must have missed it pull into the station or something. It went to another station. It passed through this one quickly. Something.

Olette shook her head "We were watching Seifer. You were the only one looking at the tracks."

"I..." Roxas deflated and wandered over to a adjacent bench to sit down.

Hayner groaned and rubbed his temples. "Let's just go write the paper, ok? 'The rumors were BS, the end'."

Olette was about to valiantly defend the paper, when Roxas spoke up, having only vaguely heard what Hayner had said. "Pence...what...about the seventh wonder? What was it?"

"Ugh, who cares!" Hayner said, disgustedly. "C'mon, Roxas, these rumors are obviously messing with your head. Let it go, man!

"I care!" Roxas responded, desperate himself. "Please, Pence!"

Hayner groaned and turned to leave the station. "Whatever. Do whatever."

Pence sighed and looked at Roxas sadly. "It's at the haunted mansion. A mystery girl in a white dress at the window. But don't get your hopes up."

"I really think you should go home and get some sleep, Roxas, or something." Olette suggested, before following Hayner with Pence.

Roxas clenched his fists. No, sleep wasn't his problem. He had slept enough lately. He never wanted to sleep again if it meant meeting those self-questioning story-dreams again.

When had he even gone to sleep last night?

* * *

><p>Roxas spent the whole walk to the Mansion staving off the thoughts that threatened to topple his sense of reality. Nothing in the last few days had made sense—there were too many pieces of the puzzle missing, too many gaps, too many disconnects. If he let these thoughts go, if he gave them free reign in his head, Roxas was afraid of what would happen. His sanity felt scarily unstable. He couldn't remember the last time he had gone to bed, one day morphed seamlessly into the next day's morning, no memory of how he had gotten to his house or his bed. He hadn't seen his parents the whole week, his friends thought he was crazy, and all these strange...hallucinations(he decided that's what they must be) had been happening. Roxas distracted himself from that terrifying inferences by trying to remember anything he could from a High School Psychology class he had taken last semester, trying to glean if he was going crazy, but he couldn't remember a single lesson. Had he even been paying attention?<p>

The top ramparts of the Old Mansion jutted above the tree line ahead of him, it's dark, flaking tan color distinct from the greenery around it. The clearing before the Mansion entrance appeared before Roxas, with the high, stone wall cutting of any view of the house below the second floor. Grand, curtained windows allowed no view inside the Mansion; any windows even remotely not covered were shrouded by darkness within. Roxas walked up to the cast-iron gate and shook at the lock briefly, failing to budge it at all, just as he expected. Through the iron bars, Roxas could see the cobblestone path lead through overgrown bushes and weeds up to a large, double wooden door.

"Hey, Roxas" Pence's quiet voice greeted.

Roxas spun around, surprised to see that his friend had followed him. "Couldn't resist." Pence responded to Roxas' unspoken question. "They say, sometimes, you can see a ghostly, pale girl in the upper windows of the mansion. They say she's the spirit of daughter of the Mansion's old owner. How she got stuck in this mortal world, no one is sure, but there are rumors—some say she was forgotten here when the Mansion was closed down, others say-"

Roxas felt his consciousness begin to lurch as Pence slipped into his dramatic persona. Roxas was no longer listening, indeed, he didn't even feel like he was outside. Suddenly, Roxas found himself sitting in some kind of ethereal room, every wall painted a pure, almost painful, white. He sat on a white chair, beside a white table across from a blonde girl in a white dress—Naminé! Pasted haphazardly on all the walls, and scattered across the table, were little sketches of different scenes. One displayed a neon-lighted down, another depicted a tall, neverending castle, and another was covered in the green and blues of an Island scene. Some characters seem to appear in multiple pictures, a redheaded girl in pink, a silver haired boy, a brown and spiky-haired boy, a man with long red hair in black and a boy with short blonde hair in black. Hundreds of scenes depicted on faded sketchbook paper.

"Roxas." Naminé greeted from across the table.

"Naminé..." Roxas replied, looking over the pictures. "Is this...me? And is that that redhead? Axel?" Roxas asked, gesturing at the two figures in black.

"Yes, you are both in quite a lot of pictures." Naminé smiled. "You are best friends after all!"

Roxas snorted, shifting a few pictures around on the table. "Hah, very funny."

Naminé grimaced. "Do you want to know the truth about who you really are?"

"No one knows me better than me." Roxas replied, eyes down on the papers.

"Of course." Naminé replied.

"But..." Roxas started hesitantly. "I don't get what's been happening lately..." Roxas paused when a picture of the spiky-haired boy and a dog and duck reached the top of the sketches.

"You know those three, don't you?" Naminé asked.

"Yeah...Sora, Donald and Goofy...they're...from my dreams..." Roxas replied quietly.

"About a year ago, some things happened. I had to take apart the memories chained together in Sora's heart." Roxas already felt like he was losing her. He couldn't think about this clearly. "But now...I'm putting them all back, exactly the way they were. It's taken me a long time, but pretty soon Sora will be his old self again." Naminé's voice had been cheerful, but it suddenly took on a more serious tone. "The...process has been affecting you too, Roxas."

"The dreams?"

"Yes. You and Sora are connected. In order for Sora to become whole again, he needs you, Roxas."

"Me...? What for?" Roxas finally looked up, conveniently away from a picture of him and Sora together.

"You hold half of what he is. He needs you, Roxas."

"Naminé...just tell me this...who are you?" Roxas asked.

Naminé paused at this, biting her lip. "I'm a witch, with power over Sora's memories and those around him."

"A..witch?"

"That's what Diz called me. But I don't know why I have this power, or the right way to use it..or, anything, really. I just have it."

"I can't help you there." Roxas replied. "I'm sorry. It's funny...suddenly I don't feel like I know myself at all, too. What do you know about me that I...don't?"

"You...you weren't ever supposed to exist, Roxas." Naminé responded, apologetic in tone, pained.

"I..what?" Roxas dropped the picture he had been holding and shot to his feet. "How...how can you even say such a thing?" He slowly dropped back into the white chair. "Even...if it were true..."

Naminé looked as if she were about to cry. "I'm...I'm sorry...I guess, some things are...really better left unsaid."

Suddenly, the room crackled and twisted.

"No! No! Naminé!" Roxas yelled, grabbing at the sketches, tossing them out of the way, scrambling across the room towards Naminé, calmly seated as the world shuddered to a crash around her.

"Roxas? Roxas?" Roxas was suddenly back outside, with Pence waving in his face. "Did you see her? You look entranced! The mystery of the mansion is getting to you, I see...Unfortunate, because it seems like the "mystery girl in white" is just the curtains moving." Pence sighed. "Must be a draft somewhere."

"I..."Roxas started.

"I guess we should head back, right, Roxas?" Pence steered Roxas around. "Summer's almost over. Can't waste anymore of it."

* * *

><p>DiZ, the red-cloak, sat quietly in a ripped armchair, absently studying the broken and rotting table in front of him. The Mansion had been locked for years, years which clearly showed in its decay. DiZ was sure if he just sat here long enough, the room would collapse around him. Things were just starting up, his grand plans were just being set into motion. He smiled an inner grin of the chess player foreseeing checkmate.<p>

"Why did you show him the train?" The black coat, the "Ansem", asked him.

DiZ smiled a small, amused smile, still studying the table. The way it was cracked inferred someone had intentionally broke it down the middle. "Because he missed the trip to the beach."

Ansem snorted. "That's...almost kind of you."

"What about you?" DiZ changed the subject. "Are the holes in your memory regarding Sora starting to fill in?"

"Yes..." Ansem responded. "The haze is lifting."

DiZ leaned his head to gaze out of a fogged and cracked window. "The same thing is happening to everyone who had ties to Sora. Very soon, to them, he'll be like a good friend who's gone away for a year."

"I've waited, and now I want to know...what is it that you want?" Ansem asked the question DiZ could tell he had been wanting to ask for the whole time the two had known each other. A smile crossed DiZ's lips. A pity this man would never comprehend...

"Revenge."

The black cloaked Ansem didn't respond.

"Now, it is time for the finishing touches." DiZ took a breath. "First we...must dispose of Naminé. She did a splendid job with Sora, but it's high time she disappeared. Roxas isn't the only one who wasn't meant to exist." DiZ leaned forward in his chair. "Take care of this, Ansem."

Still, with no response, Ansem nodded and disappeared into a portal of darkness. DiZ leaned back into the chair. Ansem probably thought him a monster, asking for a young girl to be disposed of so flippantly. Truely, though, this was not the case. This choice was something DiZ took much time in deciding. It took much study and research to assure him that eliminating Naminé would only harm the further machinations of the Organization, something he desired greatly, and result only in the "loss" of a Nobody, and no harm done to his beloved, dear Kairi. The loss of Naminé would be nothing more than the loss of this table—no one would mourn, no one would remember how or why, and, in the end, it would be forgotten—an unimportant piece in the chain of events of a larger puzzle.

DiZ heard the computer chime throughout the Mansion-

_RESTORATION AT 97%._

* * *

><p><em><strong>The Sixth Day<strong>_

"_He who knows nothing can understand nothing."_

_A field of green. A cloak followed to a castle in the nothingness. _

_An upside castle._

_Static. _

_A white castle._

_The static is worsening now._

_An inside out castle. _

_More static that picture._

_A topsy-turvy, twisted turrets, oddly angled castle. _

_Static. Static. Static. Static._

_Castle Oblivion. _

_Then nothing, just the silent black-out of a television that abruptly lost power. No static, no mess, just darkness and nothing._

Roxas woke up.

* * *

><p>Pence, Hayner and Olette were gathered together in a tight group when Roxas entered the Usual Place, as if they were discussing something secret. "Hey, guys, what's happening?" Roxas asked, however, none responded. "Guys...?" Roxas walked forward tentatively, slightly disconcerted by the lack of response. He reached for Pence's shoulder, but his hand didn't stop when it should've; it, followed by his arm, swiped right through Pence's body.<p>

"Wha—wha...?" Roxas garbled, shocked. Olette said something that made Hayner and Pence laugh, but Roxas couldn't hear the muted sound. Roxas jumped and involuntarily covered himself as his trio of friends turned suddenly and ran from the Usual Place; ran through him. The breeze from their departure dislodged a photograph from atop a nearby crate and it drifted to the ground in front of Roxas—an image of Pence, Hayner and Olette at the Struggle match the other day. A picture Roxas had definitely been in, but now, however, was not.

No thought registered in Roxas' mind, no reason or justification could be found. No understanding of this situation, this climax of all the recent oddities, could be reached in Roxas' brain. He could only stare at the image on the ground uncomprehendingly.

"Man...look at what it's come to..." Roxas whirled to see Axel, red-hair free, march into the Usual place—flanked by two of the strange, unnatural white creatures-and collapse onto the couch in a sprawling heap of lanky arms and legs. "I've been given these icky orders to destroy you...if you refuse to come back with me."

Roxas' mind was still stuck. "We're...best friends, right?" he said, grasping for anything he could to stall Axel from whatever he was going to do.

Axel sighed and ran a hand through his thick hair. "Sure...but I'm not getting turned into a Dusk just for—wait a sec!" suddenly, his green eyes brightened. "You remember now!"

"Um..." Roxas mumbled. "yeah..."

"Great!" Axel jumped to his feet and waved back the white creatures, which had been moving towards Roxas imperceptibly slow. "But, ah, y'know...gotta make sure and all. So, ummm, uhhh..." Axel paused. "What's...our boss' name?"

Roxas' stomach dropped. Silence.

Axel rolled his eyes and sighed. "Man, I can't believe this..."

Roxas cringed in expectation as Axel called forth one of his chakrams through a burst of flame. Part of Roxas wanted Axel to do away with him, life had just gotten too much, too crazy, too lost for him feel alive anymore—now, especially, that his friends seemed gone. He gritted his teeth and waited.

When no harm came, Roxas slowly cracked open his eyes to see Axel's chakram frozen in mid-summons, along with Axel himself and the two white creatures, all completely stuck in time, just like the Struggle crowd from the other day.

Suddenly, a booming voice rocked Roxas' head.

"Roxas! To the Mansion! The time has come!"

Roxas grasped at his head; feeling a headache start. He screamed: "Hayner! Pence! Olette!" hoping it would work like it had at the Struggle. No such luck. He took a few deep breaths to hold off the panic and, taking one final look at the frozen red-haired man, took off through the completely frozen Twilight Town towards the Old Mansion.

* * *

><p>Axel sighed, looking out through the door that Roxas has undoubtedly run through while the old man had the system frozen. What a downer that DiZ has that power here. Axel thought that, were he capable of feeling anger, he probably would destroy a dusk in frustration. It was obvious that the Roxas he had known was long gone, this one was just a shell of that Roxas. This Roxas had no idea what was going on.<p>

"Fine..." Axel mumbled. "I see how it is..."

Axel created a dark portal and took one final look at Roxas' little hangout spot, wondering if perhaps he was feeling sadness. But no, it couldn't be. He couldn't do that; wasn't capable. Yeah, it was nothing.

Sucks to be Roxas, though.

* * *

><p>Roxas nearly crashed into the iron gates when he reached them, slowing himself only just in time.<p>

_My Liege...why do you run...?_

Roxas shuddered and turned, seeing that several of the white creatures has followed him and were closing in. He backed toward the gate.

"C'mon..." he mumbled. "Don't call me and then lock me out!"

Suddenly, Roxas' hand jerked up and the Keyblade materialized into it. It pulled and pointed itself toward the Mansion gate and, with a click, the huge iron chain and lock fell to the ground. The gate pulled itself open by its own gravity, and Roxas didn't take a second look before charging through it. He crashed through the overgrown foliage of the Mansion entrance, pausing only to swing the large wooden door open. As he slammed it shut behind him, he caught a glimpse of a man in a black cloak, with a long, curved red sword, fighting off the increasing number of white creatures at the entrance. With the slam and click of the door, Roxas turned to find himself in an expansive foyer. Broken bits of wood and stone and trash littered the expensive floor, decaying woodwork and peeling walls lent a certain deadness to the scene. At the far edge of the room, two staircases led to the second floor, while several doors on the main floor led to who-knows-where. Roxas felt the headache, which had been only just noticeable, suddenly spike in pain. He grabbed as his screeching head and fell to his knees as a sudden scene invaded his mind: a garishly lit, but darkened metropolis covered in perpetual rain.

"_Your mind's made up?"_

"_Why did the Keyblade choose me? I have to know."_

"_You can't turn on the Organization!"_

As soon as the scene invaded, it retreated and the headache returned to a manageable state. Roxas gasped and blinked the remnants of pain away, dragging himself back to his feet. When he looked up, the pure white, angelic form of Naminé stood several yards in front of him.

"Organization XIII..." Roxas mumbled, accepting anything at this point. "They're a bad group..."

"Bad or good, I don't know." Naminé replied, steepling her fingers. "They're a group of incomplete people who wish to be whole. To that end, they're desperately searching for something."

"What?"

"Kingdom Hearts."

In a swirl of green numbers, the man in the red cloak and belts appeared. "There will be no further outbursts like this, Naminé!"

"Naminé!" Roxas yelled. "Just tell me this: what's going to happen to me now! Please! Just tell me that, nothing else...really matters anymore."

Naminé opened her mouth, compassion evident in her eyes, but the red cloaked man interrupted harshly. "There's no knowledge that has the power to change your fate."

Roxas didn't like this man. "Even if it doesn't, I wanna know! I have the right to know!"

Roxas thought he almost detected a hint of amusement from the man. "A right? A Nobody doesn't have the right to "know". A Nobody doesn't even have the right to be!"

A nobody? What was this man talking about?

The man in the black coat appeared in a swirl of darkness beside the red cloak. "DiZ, we're out of time. Too many Nobodies!"

Roxas jumped and look over his shoulder when he heard the door behind him shudder. Out the windows beside the door, all that could be seen were writhing, white bodies.

"Roxas!" Naminé took advantage of her chance. "Nobodies like us are only half a person! You won't disappear! You'll be whole!"

"Disappear...?" Roxas wondered.

DiZ shot the black cloak a look of anger and annoyance and reached for Naminé "Girl, I will silence you myself!"

"You won't disappear-!" Naminé started, but DiZ grabbed her arm and covered her mouth with his hand.

"Hey!" Roxas took a few steps toward DiZ and Naminé, before the black cloak teleported in front of him, blocking his way. "Don't you touch her!"

Naminé's lithe body slipped from DiZ's grasp and screamed. "Roxas, we'll meet again! And then we can talk about everything! I may not know its you, and you may not know its me, but we'll meet again! Someday soon! I promise!"

DiZ roared in anger and grabbed Naminé by the wrist, dragging her into a dark portal he had summoned.

The door behind Roxas shuddered again, the black cloaked man faded away into darkness and the foyer was left in otherwise silence. A small scrap of paper floated to the ground in front of Roxas. Written in startlingly beautiful calligraphy, it read: "Basement" with a small sketch denoting which door to take.

As Roxas heard the entrance door crack again, he needed no more motivation to sprint for whichever door the basement was and get away from the invading creatures. The basement door was slightly ahead of him and to the left, and Roxas ripped it open faster than he had opened any door before. He gazed into the darkness beyond for just a moment, before stepping into it. He slammed to the door behind him and groped for a lock or something—a deadbolt, thankfully, slid home. As he turned and leaned his back against the door, breathing heavily, he watched as the long, sloping hallway he was apparently in slowly light itself up by descending lights along the wall.

Following the hall, Roxas entered into a system of several, small interconnected rooms. Ahead of him, in the first in main room, lay a huge machine of buttons and glowing screens; at least six monitors were hooked by yards of wiring to the panel of buttons and knobs, as well as disappearing into the wall behind it. Next to the machine, built into the wall, was what looked like a small closet, with a luminous, circular panel on the floor and a complicated apparatus hanging from the ceiling that ended in a perfect cone with a glowing tip. Wire and electrical paneling covered all of the room's walls, and disappeared out through the doorways and into the adjoining rooms. Roxas took a step forward, toward the mass of monitors, before the dull headache roared back into a screeching, trilling, breath-taking migraine. He stumbled to a knee, screaming, as more scenes invaded his brain, trying to convince him that they were his own memories.

_A white room filled with tall white thrones, upon which intimidating shadows sat._

_Axel was there. _

_So was Roxas._

_Outside, below, the stormy, dark city, below the glowing Skyscraper. _

_Roxas, dressed in the black coat, faced off against a long, silver-haired young man who fought with his eyes covered by a blindfold. _

"_Why? Why do you have the Keyblad?" The blindfolded young man asked._

_Roxas took a moment to study his weapon before striking at his opponent. The opponent blocked with a sword of his own and kicked Roxas heartily in the chest, sending him stumbling back._

_Roxas, barely conscious, sat in a room of electronics and glowing screens. Through half-closed eyes, he looked up at a black coat and a red cloak staring down at him. _

"_Will it work?" the black cloak asked._

"_If we can maintain the simulated town until Naminé finishes chaining together Sora's memories." the red cloak responded._

"_What will happen to Roxas?" The black coat asked._

"_He holds half of Sora's power within him. In the end, he'll have to give it back." The red cloak responded, and walked over to the wall of monitors and buttons._

_The black cloak shook his head. "Poor thing."_

_The red cloak shrugged and pressed a button nonchalantly."Such is the fate of a Nobody."_

_With an overwhelming glow, the room disappeared._

Roxas stumbled against the wall of the basement room and clenched his eyes, forcing the memories back. Simulated town? What did that mean? It couldn't possibly mean what it sounded like, nor could anything else the memories said. Looking up, Roxas saw the mechanic panels and screens for a second time and felt something well up within in, now that he recognized them from the memory onslaught. Roxas threw out a hand and in it appeared the Keyblade. He charged forward and slashed at the machine, over and over and over, screaming. He cracked screens, he dented panels, he cut apart wires. He beat the machine into an unrecognizable hunk of metal and twitching sparks. He channeled the screeching headache, the invasion of his brain, into pure, unadulterated chaos. Memories, ideas, concepts, flooded his brain, rebuilding it from the ground up. When there was no more machine to beat, the Keyblade disappeared and Roxas stumbled back, grasping at his head. He turned and ran blindly into an connecting room, which was a bit larger than the first, and empty aside from more electrical equipment running along its walls. Roxas collapsed to his hands and knees, grinding his teeth and screaming through it all. While the burning headache was overwhelming, so was the mental and emotional trauma—so it was all just a lie? Everything? His life? His memories? His friends? He had had a childhood in Twilight Town! He had had parents! A life! Friends! He had had a favorite television show, a favorite book! He remembered how foods tasted and he remembered all the adventures his friends and he had had every summer! He remembered when they discovered the Mansion on their woodland explorations! He remembered every Struggle match for at least the last five years! He remembered when he met Olette and Pence in the fourth grade! He didn't remember meeting Hayner, but that's only because he had known him since he was born! He remembered it all! There was no way—it was impossible that those things could be false! He had had a _life_ in Twilight Town!

But then there were these impossible, terribly, horrible, unbelievable memories that were trying to crowd the good ones out. Twilight Town was replaced by that terrible rain-drenched, grimy metropolis. Sunsets were replaced by neverending moonlight. His friends were replaced by-he didn't even want to think about it-them! It was impossible! It...was...impossible...

Roxas gasped into the cold, metal floor. No...this couldn't be his life...

"Simply amazing, Roxas."

Axel.

Roxas, looked up, breathless, and saw the red-haired man—with all the memories associated with him crashing through his mind like an out of control train-look down at him.

"Axel..." Roxas breathed.

Axel must have sensed something about the way Roxas said his name, because he replied, "You really do remember me this time, huh?" he sneered. "I'm SO FLATTERED!" As Axel bellowed the last line, he stretched his arms out beside him and mountainous fires sprung to sudden life in a perfect circle around the two. Roxas scuttled forward, as the heat became unbearable near the edges. "But you're too late!" Axel yelled, as his two chakrams appeared in his hands.

Roxas took a breath and shuddered, before standing to his feet.

He remembered everything now.

Two Keyblades, one in each hand, one white and one black, one Oathkeeper, one Oblivion, both ornately designed, appeared in Roxas' grasp.

Axel's eyes widened and he smiled. "Two?"

With no response, Roxas charged forward, dragging both blades along the floor behind him. He swung them up at Axel, then down with all the force of his charge. Axel blocked both of them with his chakrams, and tossed the blades to the side by spinning his weapons like wheels.

Roxas remembered. He was Number XIII, Roxas, of Organization XIII. The Key of Destiny.

"You won't forget this!" Axel called as he raised a chakram and blasted fire at Roxas, who dove and rolled to the side, tossing the Oblivion Keyblade at Axel in a spinning arc.

Roxas's mind raced. He was a Nobody, one without a heart, and therefore felt nothing. His only goal was to eliminate Heartless to accomplish the goals of the Organization.

Axel dodged the flying Keyblade, both initially and when it boomeranged back to Roxas. Coming out of his roll, Roxas caught the Keyblade and manipulated his environment so that he ran horizontally along the wall of fire toward Axel, slashing at the redhead as he moved; forcing him back.

That goal hadn't been enough for him, and he had left the Organization to find his true purpose. To find answers to all his questions.

Axel jumped away from Roxas' onslaught, into the center of the circle. "Burn, baby!" he laughed and slammed his hands onto the floor, causing bursts of flame to erupt around him and race outward, knocking Roxas back into the wall of flame, singeing him.

But before the Organization could catch up to him, he had been captured by that mysterious man in red.

Roxas charged again at Axel, swinging in both high and low, each strike being parried and blocked by Axel's expert handling of his chakrams. Effortlessly, it seemed, Axel was able to spin the weapons to wherever they needed to be, deftly handling each twirl of his fingers and flick of wrist. Roxas swung low, Axel jumped, and snapped out a kick to Roxas' head that sent the boy tumbling.

"C'mere, I'll make it all stop!" Axel grinned, taunting.

Roxas knew for sure the truth of himself. He wasn't noble, he wasn't a 'good guy', he'd done a great deal of objectively awful things in the name of the Organization, in the name of the Superior. He wasn't human, he was nothing, he was empty, he was a Nobody.

Roxas stepped back to his and charged Axel again, but instead of swinging, Roxas stabbed, and instead of aiming for Axel, he aimed for his chakrams. Catching the complicated handles on the inner part of Axel's weapons with his Keyblades, Roxas twisted and ripped them out of a stunned Axel's grasp and sent them flying. Without giving Axel a moment to register what had just happened, Roxas smacked him in the face with the butt of the Keyblade, followed by a slash across the chest, ripping the material of his black cloak and sending him stumbling back. Without letting up, Roxas laid into Axel with more strikes and attacks, some Axel dodged, most he did not. With a final blow, Roxas sent Axel flying into his own wall of fire, which disintegrated as Axel flew through it and crashed into the wall behind. He sunk to the ground and fell forward onto his knees.

And Roxas knew he had never had a life in Twilight Town, not a real one.

He had never had a real anything.

Roxas looked at at the gasping, but strangely not bleeding, Axel. Suddenly the headache returned in screeching full force.

_Walking away. Axel warning him. "You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!"_

_A pause. "No one would miss me."_

_Walking away._

_A whispered reply._

"_That's not true...I would."_

Roxas stood firm, but he could feel his face soften towards and hacking Axel.

"Axel..." he said softly.

Axel snorted and coughed, still supporting himself on the ground. His body began to fade into darkness, slowly. "Let's meet again in the next life."

"Yeah." Roxas nodded, understanding."I'll be waiting."

Axel chuckled. The darkness was moving up his arms. "Silly...just because you have a next life..."

And Axel disappeared into darkness.

Roxas watched where he had disappeared for but a moment before he heard a door swish open behind him. He turned and saw another long hallway light up. As he entered it, he wondered at the strange clear bubbles that lined the wall. They seemed to be pod-like containers, and the final two, at the end of the hall near a simple door, seemed to be containing something. As Roxas approached them, he was shocked to see it was the duck and dog creature from his Twilight Town dreams—Donald and Goofy. They floated in the pods with no movement, eyes closed in some kind of deep sleep. Passing them by, Roxas pushed open the final door and entered into a huge room, as white as the room he had met with Naminé in—so white that he couldn't even judge its size as he couldn't tell where it ended. In what he could only assume was the center of room there was another clear pod-like container, except this one was much larger and shaped almost like a flower's petals, all curled up and bent in on itself, as if it had not yet bloomed completely.

Suddenly, green numbers appeared before Roxas and the man in the red cloak and bandages materialized from them—DiZ.

"At last, the Keyblade's chosen one." he acknowledged.

Roxas brandished the Keyblades. "Who are you talking to? Me or Sora?"

DiZ smiled, almost in pride. "To half of Sora, of course. You reside in darkness. What I need is someone who can move about th realm of light and destroy Organization XIII."

"Why?" Roxas asked. "Who are you?"

"I am a servant of the worlds. And if I am a servanat," DiZ chuckled, "You should consider yourself a tool, at best."

"Was that...was that supposed to be a joke?" Roxas roared. "'cause I'm not laughing!" and he charged, motivated by everything DiZ had put him through, the audacity the man had to stand there and mock him after all of that. He swung at the still form of DiZ, but only succeeded in cutting through nothing. The slashes he made in DiZ bled only green numbers and even then, only for a moment before returning to a normal display.

"My apologies." DiZ grinned. "This is only a data-based projection."

Roxas screamed and slashed at DiZ all the more, his mind felt like it was collapsing around him, his body felt like it was being pulled apart.

DiZ disappeared and reappeared closer to the center pod. "Come closer."

Roxas stumbled forward, struggling for breath, his body unnaturally heavy and out of energy. He felt ever aspect of him slowing; ceasing. "I...hate you...so much..."

"If you had the heart to, you should share some of that hatred with Sora. He's far too nice for his own good."

"No!" Roxas yelled. "I belong to me!"

DiZ disappeared as Roxas approached, shaking his head like a reproachful authority.

"Silly boy...you don't have a 'you'".

With a click and a hiss, the pod before Roxas loosened itself and began to open. Each side of it opened outward like the flowering petals it resembled. Inside, a young boy floated in its midst. The boy had spiky, chestnut hair and wore a bright red jumpsuit that went down to just above his knees and a small, blue jacket. It was the boy from his dreams, calmly sleeping-Sora.

Upon seeing him, a sudden calmness overcame Roxas. He let both the Keyblades fall to the floor beside him and disappear.

"Sora..."

Roxas took a few steps forward. His body felt heavier than ever. His mind started to cloud.

"You're lucky..." he whispered, thinking only of Hayner, Pence and Olette. "It looks like my summer vacation is...over..."

* * *

><p><em>Sorry for such a long wait! This chapter is 15 pages, though, and almost 10,000 words...so maybe that'll make up for it a little? It was awhile in the making. <em>

_I think the next one should come sooner._

_~Mars_


	6. A Time to Save the World

_**Chapter VI: A Time to Save the World**_

"_Never tell a young person that anything cannot be done.  
>God may have been waiting centuries for someone<br>ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing."_

_~John Andrew Holmes_

"_Sora!"  
>"Who's...there...?"<em>

"_Sora! Sora, wake up!"_

Sora Akari Taiyou slowly cracked open his eyes before quickly closing them again. No way was he getting up yet. Whatever it was that he was getting up for, he was sure he could squeeze in just a _little more_ sleep...

A painful whack on his knee from some hard object and an angry "Sora!", easily jarred him back into reality. Sora's eyes flew open and immediately he nearly screamed—he was in a room so white that it essentially blinded him-at least, he guessed it was a room; the white made it impossible to really tell. His eyes burned and he felt tears begin to flow. He stumbled forward, tripped, and threw his hands out to catch himself before he realized that someone else had caught him instead.

"Gawrsh, Sora, y'gotta be more careful!"

"I, uh..." Sora took a much slower approach to opening his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the room's painful white. As everything came into focus, Sora found himself staring into the large eyes of his friends, Donald and Goofy. Sora smiled, content, and with a mischievous yawn, relaxed into their grip, beginning to drift back off into sleep. He could hear Donald snort, and then felt the duck's grip release, sending Sora tumbling to the floor.

"Ouch!" he rubbed his back. "C'mon, Donald, I was only joking!"

Donald shrugged and examined the area around them. "You've fallen asleep in stranger places."

"Well, does anybody know where we are?" Sora sat up and finally took stock of his surroundings. With his eyes adjusted, he was definitely sure they were in some kind of huge, ridiculously white room. In the center, from where he had come a few minutes ago, he guessed, was what looked like a giant, unfolded, glass flower.

"I think we were asleepin'!" Goofy suggested.

"Yeah, that's what it felt like." Sora agreed, "But how did we get here? This doesn't look anything like the Gummi Ship's bunks..."

"Let's see..." Donald thought back. "We defeated Ansem..."

"Yep." Sora continued. "We restored peace to the worlds, found Kairi..." Sora felt a twinge of sadness at the thought of the redhead, so far away on Destiny Islands, but he was sure he'd see her again soon. He just had to-ohyeah! "And then we went to look for Riku and the King!"

"Then what happened?" Goofy asked.

"I..uh..." Sora thought hard, but he couldn't seem to pinpoint how he and his friends had gotten to where they were now. It didn't even feel as though he had known, but forgot-his memories just completed stopped at that big, endlessly green field that they had found themselves in after closing the door to Kingdom Hearts. "I can't remember..." he finally said.

"Neither can I." Donald added.

"What about Jiminy's Journal?" Goofy asked. "He musta wrote down what happened!"

"Right! Great idea, Goofy!" Sora congratulated and reached back into the hood of his red jacket, where Jiminy normally stayed. Scooping up the small form in his hand, Sora shook the small cricket a little, who lay fast asleep in his palm. "Hey, Jiminy! "Wake up!"

"Huh? Wha..what's going on, fellas? And why is it so bright in here?" Jiminy sleepily rubbed at his eyes.

"That's what we're hoping you can tell us." Donald replied.

"We're not sure where we are, Jiminy, could you check your journal and see if there are any clues there to...well, anything?" Sora asked.

Jiminy smiled, and reached into his little backpack. "Sure! I'm happy to help! Just gimme a second here..." from within, he pulled out a tiny little leather book and started flipping through it. "Huh. The last entry was from the first or second night we spent in the Endless Fields...and then there's nothing." he flipped a page. "Oh wait a moment! There's a message here! It says: "Thank Naminé."

"Who's Naminé?" Goofy asked, scratching his head.

All four friends gave a "Who knows?" shrug. "I'm sure we'll figure it out sometime, when it comes up." Sora finally said. Whoever Naminé was, they'd have to keep an eye out for her. Sora double-checked himself when he realized he had referred to this "Naminé" as a "she". Why had he done that? It wasn't like Jiminy's Journal gave any hints...oh well, he figured, it must just be that Naminé seems more like a girl's name.

Donald sighed. "Some journal that is..."

Jiminy ignored the jab, used to Donald's typical pessimism. "Well, whaddaya you fellows say to figuring out where we are?"

"A-yup!" Goofy replied, positively. "Me n' Donald came outta big clear containers like you, Sora! 'cept ours were just out in a hallway out there-"

"Guess we weren't as 'important' as Sora..." Donald mumbled.

"-and what's more, there's another door out there!" Goofy finished.

Sora nodded, excitedly. "Alright! Let's see where it goes!"

As group moved through wherever they were, Sora had to nearly be dragged forward by Donald, as he was so intent on searching and investigating every corner and door of every room they went through. After the hallway where Donald and Goofy had awoken, they entered into highly technical, electrical rooms with cables and paneling covering every wall. After a room or two like this, the group found a smaller room with just a computer, all six monitors completely dark and shut down, along with a staircase leading up. Unanimously agreed, after Sora poked at the computer for a few minutes, the three friends headed up the stairs into whatever lay beyond. Sora did not expect, however, to push through a door and enter into a run-down and trashed Mansion.

"Man!" Sora exclaimed. "This place is so cool!" he looked up to the high, vaulted ceilings, impressed even at where the light broke through in several damaged holes. He couldn't help but wonder about the history of this place, and what had led it to be abandoned in such a condition.

"I don't know 'bout you two," Goofy started for what looked like a front door. "But I'd just like to breathe some fresh air right about now!" The Knight creaked open the large, wooden door, Sora and Donald close behind him. Immediately, warm sunlight poured through and bathed the three in its glow. Sora smiled, he had to admit, for some reason, the fresh air felt particular novel and fresh right now. Stepping out of the Mansion, the three entered into a severely overgrown and neglected garden, filled with tall grass and huge, twisting plants and trees. Through the overgrowth, they could see a tall stone wall run all the way around the Mansion, and a run-down gate that opened fully to the world beyond, holding onto the wall only by its hinges. In the distance, Sora could hear a train whistle, long and powerful. Something inside Sora leapt at the sound. There was something so familiar about it, something so welcoming. He couldn't help but feel his heart drag itself toward it.

"Hey! You! How'd you get back there!" Sora turned toward the gated entry to the Mansion, through which a boy about his age stood, with two other heads of two others persons peaking out over his shoulders. The boy who spoke sported tousled, unkept blonde hair and glared at Sora suspiciously with his dark blue eyes.

"And, ah, what're those things with you?" a boy with brown hair overflowing around a headband asked with wide eyes from beyond the blonde's left shoulder. Behind the right shoulder, was a girl with brown hair twisted into braids and bright green eyes.

"Um, hi!" Sora waved awkwardly, Donald and Goofy doing the same behind him. "We're not trying to cause any trouble or anything...we just, well, kinda woke up." he grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "We're not really sure what's going on or how we got here."

"And those, ah, guys with you?" The blonde gestured.

"Oh! These are Donald and Goofy!" Sora responded, gesturing. Goofy still waved, even going so far as to offer a friendly "howdy!". Donald just gave an acknowledging nod.

"But...what...are they?" The girl finally spoke up.

Sora paused. What were they-oh! Sora snorted a laugh. Of course! Donald and Goofy not-being-human might not go over easily with some people! He wondered why they'd never run into a problem before, but he figured it was just because almost every world they had visited had had its own "strange" quirk to it, and most people there probably considered it normal to see a duck and dog like creature. Well, Sora shrugged, guess it wouldn't fly everywhere.

"They're friends of mine!" He explained. "They're just...different. They're from far away."

"And if you've got a problem with it, you can talk to my wand!" Donald added, brandishing his weapon. Sora chuckled nervously and sidestepped in front of Donald.

"Ignore him! He can be kinda extreme sometimes!"

The blonde still gazed at the group strangely, but offered a potentially friendly nod. "Well, I'm Hayner."

Following suite, the two others, who had been standing behind Hayner, stepped out and introduced themselves. The girl's name was Olette, and the brown-haired one was Pence.

"My name's Sora!" Sora offered."Sorry if we freaked you guys out at all!"

"It's alright, we'll live." Hayner shrugged and crossed him arms. Pence walked forward shoved the remains of the gate out of the way. "I actually think all this is pretty cool! The world full of weird-ass stuff and we just found some of it wandering right out of the mysterious Old Mansion!"

Olette smiled. "I agree, but unfortunately, the whole rest of the town might not be so...open minded as us. If you're planning to come into town at all, I could go get some cloaks or something to make Donald and Goofy less conspicuous?"

Donald started to speak up, but Goofy interrupted. "Gee, Olette! That'd be just fantastic! Thank you!"

Olette smiled and nodded, turning back into the forest that lay beyond the Mansion's clearing. "Oh! Hayner! I just remembered!" she suddenly started and turned back. "They said their names were Donald, Sora and Goofy, remember? That guy we met?"

"Right, I'll tell them." Hayner nodded and Olette disappeared into the forest.

Pence shook Sora, Donald and Goofy's hand each, examining them closely. "Yeah, you guys weren't exactly our first... "different" experience today."

"You got that right." Hayner said. "There was some guy looking around town for you. He had a black cloak on, so we couldn't catch a face-"

"-but he had giant ears! Like this!" Pence placed both hands on the sides of his upper head, mimicking ears that Sora, Donald and Goofy knew too well.

"The King!" All three startled in unison.

"So you know him?" Hayner asked.

"He's only someone we've been looking for for ages!" Donald replied. "Where'd he go?"

"Well, he said to to meet him at the train station-"

"Take us there!" Donald demanded. Not angrily, though, just in his Donald way.

"Please?" Goofy added, smiling.

* * *

><p>Twilight Town, as Sora learned the name of the world they were in to be, was a quiet and unassuming city. The way the sun's rays fell throughout the day lent to the sky an orange glow that permeated every corner and open lot of the brick and stone town. None of the residents gave Donald and Goofy a second glance as the group moved through the town, headed to the station as directly as possible. The town struck Sora as very...up. Many of its roads were an ascent, and its buildings were built seemingly atop each other at times. The rails for the railways were raised many, many meters off the ground to avoid the sprawling town at all points that it might cross it. Occasionally, it seemed, the railways would meet the town's brick ground, such as at the train station, but mostly the rails twisted and turned into directions unknown, far above the ground. The train station itself could constantly be seen above the city's skyline—a tall, tower-like building with a huge clock on its face and twin bells extending on arms from both sides of the building's top-most levels. As they got closer and closer, the building revealed itself to sprawl out into a huge ground-floor complex, housing dozens of small, single carriage trains. Across from the building's entrance, its plaza extended to a short brick wall which overlooked the majority of Twilight Town—as easy feat, as it seemed that the station was built at the top of what could be considered the "hill" format of the town.<p>

"Whatta view!" Goofy admired, looking out towards the glistening orange sun.

Hayner, Pence and Olette nodded and looked out themselves, smiling. Olette spoke. "It really is."

"It's rare to get a sight this clear." Hayner noted. "You're lucky its not rush hour. Most people are at work at this point."

Suddenly a dark form fell across the view of the sun and crashed into the ground. The group jumped back in surprise, as the form slithered about on the floor and slipped into a standing position. Olette gasped, and Hayner swore, both in surprise. As the thing took a step-except not at all like a step, more like a squirm—Sora summoned the Keyblade and brandished it. Encouraged and comforted by its familiar form in his hands, and the dangling Oathkeeper keychain at its end, Sora took a step forward in front of the group.

Two more forms suddenly plopped to the ground and slithered up beside the first, followed by more. Double. Triple. Donald and Goofy summoned their weapons and took places beside Sora.

As Sora got a good look at the creatures against the sun, he felt revulsion in his stomach. This things moved unnaturally, twisting in ways that shouldn't be, never moving as much as slithering and contorting. They were completely colored a dark white, ridiculously slim and stick-like, with faces that were cut across the middle with a zippered opening, revealing a row of something resembling silver teeth with nothing else behind them. Their arms were unnaturally long, reaching almost to the ground, tapering into five long fingers, each almost as long as the rest of its arm, which were all wrapped together by two black strands.

Sora looked back over his shoulder and gestured to Hayner, Pence and Olette. "Run!" just as he ducked below one of the creature slithering through the air at him. As it passed above him, Sora thrust the Keyblade straight up and through it. The creature withered around the Keyblade and faded into white nothing. As another one moved along the ground at Sora, like a snake, he jumped into the air and stabbed Keyblade down at the monster, dissolving it before leaping off from the Keyblade and slashing another creature into nothing. Beside him, Donald and Goofy fought off the monsters as well, spells and shield working in tandem. Sora slashed at another one of white creatures, but it moved at an unrealistic angle, twisting itself at ninety degrees to avoid the strike. Surprised, Sora didn't react to a backhand from the monster in time, which sent him tumbling across the stone. As he fell, he aimed and tossed the Keyblade, decapitating another creature before the Keyblade returned to his hand as he regained his footing. Standing, Sora watched one of the monsters fall back to laying along the ground and stretch itself across the dozen feet to Sora before its lower half caught up with its upper half and its body sprang back to life in three dimensions, inches in front of Sora. It's arms snaked out toward his torso like a spear, but Sora dodged to the side and blocked it nimbly. Through the Keyblade, it felt to him like the creatures fingers were made from metal. With a quick return slice, he removed the long tendril-like fingers and soon after, he removed the creature's torso. What were these things? Weird new Heartless?

The battle against the creatures warred on for ages. They never seemed to stop falling from nothing-they just kept coming and coming and coming. Dozens. Hundreds. Donald had already collapsed from the mental exhaustion of so many spells, and so Sora and Goofy, both also tiring, had to stay near him to defend him against the creature. Sora felt his limbs burning and the sweat pouring from all the exertion. He didn't know how much longer he could hold on. He wasn't surprised when a white twisted leg slid along the ground and swept his feet out from under him. Collapsing to the ground, Sora looked up at more gathering creatures. He raised his Keyblade weakly to defend, but the creature before him suddenly vanished, as did the one beside it and the one beside it. Sora wiped the sweat from his forehead and watched as a copy of the original Keyblade, but with a golden blade and a silver handle instead of vice-versa, cleave through another creature. Attached to the blade's handle was a small figure in a black cloak with large ears—the King!

Donald mumbled, "Your majesty?"

The King slashed at another creature with a smooth flip. He looked over his shoulder at Donald, Sora and Goofy. "You've gotta board the train and leave town! The train knows the way!" The King reached into the folds of his cloak with his free hand and tossed a small pouch to Sora. It was heavy, and made out of a worn velvet. Inside was a pile of gold munny, along with a crumpled piece of paper. In the corner, Sora could make out one word: "Ansem." Another Ansem Report?

"Go! Quickly!" The King rushed toward the end of the plaza and leapt off of the stone wall into the city below. The white creature slithered and slid after him and disappeared, leaving Goofy, Sora and Donald to breathe. "Was...was that really the King?" Goofy asked.

"Looked like it." Donald coughed, his mental fortitude only just returning. "Good to know he's alright!"

"and no longer in the Realm of Darkness!" Sora's eyes widened, all feeling of pain gone. "Which probably means Riku got out, too!"

"I know that look." Donald snorted and pushed himself to his feet on his wand. "We're gonna be looking for Riku and the King now more than ever, right?"

"Of course!" Sora responded with a resounding affirmation. "That's all we've got left to do! Then we can go home!"

"And the King said the train was our next stop! We'd better skeddadle!" Goofy turned and marched toward the train station, Donald and Sora behind.

"Hey wait!" Sora turned to see Hayner, Pence and Olette running towards them. "What in the world _were_ those guys?" Pence gasped when he reached the three, leaning over onto his knees.

"To be honest..." Sora replied. "I don't have a clue."

"Should we, you know, like, call the police or something?" Olette asked, concerned.

"Olette, what could the police do against those things!" Hayner gestured to the edge of the plaza, where some people were watching in horror. Goofy shrouded his cloak around him some more. "Besides, I'm guessing someone must have already."

Sora nodded. "Probably."

"Well...we heard what that guy in the cloak said." Pence started. "So I guess this is goodbye?"

Sora nodded again. "Thanks for all your help! We'll come back to visit!"

Inside the station, a whistle blew.

"Sounds like the train is leaving soon!" Hayner nudged Sora toward the doors. "You guys should be headed out!"

"Yeah..." Sora looked out at the sun again, now moving further down in the sky.

"What is it, Sora?" Goofy asked.

"I...it's like...I've just got this feeling like I'm leaving someplace that's...really special..." Sora responded, quietly and thoughtfully.

Sora thought he could almost hear Donald think that he was being too sentimental.

"It's alright, Sora! Like ya said, we'll come back soon!" Goofy patted him on the back.

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Sora nodded and started toward the station.

"Hey, Sora!" Hayner called out. Sora turned. "You...sure we haven't met before?"

Sora paused and thought. "Positive. Why do you ask?"

Hayner shrugged and looked to Olette and Pence. "I dunno, just 'cause."

Sora nodded and waved goodbye. Pence, Hayner and Olette returned the farewell and Sora, Donald and Goofy entered the expansive station. Goofy gestured at Sora's face. "Sora, are you okay?"

"What-?" Sora wiped at his cheek, surprised to see a single tear end up on his hand. "How'd that...I don't know where that came from..."

Donald chuckled, patting Sora on the knee, who continued only to study the tear, "C'mon, Sora, pull it together. You can't be that much of a sap..."

* * *

><p>With another whistle, and the disappearance of Sora, Donald and Goofy into the station, Olette, Pence and Hayner turned and walked back into town. Pence and Hayner started discussing the weirdness of the day, and how life seemed to be getting crazier and crazier, while Olette couldn't stop thinking about the little pouch Sora had held in his hand. It looked exactly like the one she had in her pocket right now, which was weird, because she had made it by hand, from her own design. It was impossible that there were two of them...statistically speaking, and otherwise.<p>

"Hey!" Pence took on a voice of excitement. "Speaking of craziness, I've heard some -terrific- new rumors about Sunset Hill..."

* * *

><p>There had only been one train in the station—a simple yet elegant engine car. No one seemed to be around the platforms, and the man selling tickets simply encouraged Sora to enter the train for nothing. After they had boarded it, and without any apparent conductor or obvious start, the train had starting moving and, for at least thirty minutes, had not stopped-even when the tracks ended and Twilight Town's sun disappeared, and Sora found himself gazing out into an endless space, similar to the space between worlds. This space was slightly different, however. It seemed deeper and more compacted, as if it were much smaller. The train continued to chug away, connected to no rail or anything else that Sora could see, and Donald was starting to get impatient.<p>

"When are we gonna be able to get off this thing!" he groaned, tapping at the windows.

"Huh, what?" Sora glanced over to Donald, looking away from where he was trying to see Twilight Town in the distance. "I'm sure it'll be soon."

"Uh, fellas, I think that's our stop comin' up now!" Goofy pointed out the nearest window to the front of the train, out towards a tiny spit of land floating in the space. Dotted with several bushes and trees, most of the island was taken up by a huge brick tower, twisted and angled, that seemed to create shapes that looked impossible to have been built by human hands. Several, smaller, offshoot towers extended out from the main tower at different points, each stark against the dark, colorful sky.

When the train slowed to a halt, the three stepped out onto the small island of land. Through a small garden of trees, Sora noticed a large creature standing in front of the door to the tower, completely blocking the wide doors with its bulk.

"Hey!" Goofy gestured. "Donald, d'ya think that's-"

Donald smiled craftily and walked toward the creature. Disguising his voice as well as he could—which Sora noted, to his amusement, wasn't very much—Donald asked, "Hey, what's going on?"

The creature chuckled with a deep, rough voice. "I sent some of my mooks inside to see if the master of this here tower's as much of a big shot as they say." the creature spoke without turning. "They say he's a real powerful sorcerer, which would make'im the perfect bodyguard for me, see? It don't matter how tough he is, 'course-once he's a Heartless, he'll be singin' a different tune!"

At the mention of Heartless, Sora silently called the Keyblade out and crept forward behind Donald. Who was this guy?

"Yup, with all them heartless, me'n Maleficent are gonna conquer everything! This Heartless'll be a present, special for her!" the large creature snorted. "What am I doing talking to a pipsqueak like you, anyway?" still, without looking, he gestured Donald away. "Go on, scram!"

Sora raised an eyebrow at the mention of Maleficent, now extremely confused as to who this guy could be, considering that Maleficent had died way back at Hollow Bastion.

Goofy walked up past Donald, "Gawrsh, you oughta find something nicer to do, Pete!"

"Aw, says who, anyway?" The creature, Pete, turned to finally get a view of who he had been talking to. A look of shock passed over his extremely large face, great hanging jowels shaking and two ears perking up above slanted black eyes that angled down to a round, black nose. All together, his face resembled a bull dog's. He wore a bulging red and blue jumpsuit, zipped up the middle, that looked about a size too small for a large frame. To Sora, it looked like this guy came from the same world as Donald and Goofy: Disney Castle.

"You two!" Pete gestured wildly at Donald and Goofy. "What are you two nimrods doing here?"

"We could ask you the same question!" Donald waved his wand menacingly.

"So you guys know each other?" Sora asked.

"Sure we do!" Goofy responded, glancing over his shoulder at Sora, his shield still defensively held in front of him. "Pete's been causin' trouble back home for ages! His Majesty finally banished him to another dimensional-thingy a long time ago!"

"Speaking of that..." Donald took a step forward, suspiciously."How'd you escape, Pete?"

Pete chuckled and cracked his neck. Sora thought that his laugh sounded like molasses. "You wanna know, eh? Well, Maleficent herself' busted me out, that's how! And now your world-" Pete paused. "No, no, no, ALL worlds, are gonna belong to yours truly!" Pete grinned wide, and added almost as an afterthought, ""cause, ah, Maleficent's gonna help me conquer 'em!"

"Hate to break it to you, Pete!" Donald smirked. "But Maleficent's gone! We took care of her a long time ago!"

Pete took a step back in shock and shook his head. "What! Whaddaya talkin' about?"

"We defeated her." Sora shrugged.

"Yeah! She's toast!" Donald added, egging Pete on.

"What?" Pete roared "How dare ya!"

Sora watched small tendrils of darkness leak from Pete's giant hands, to the stone steps and dribble down them. As the darkness slid along the ground, small yellow eyes formed and, around them, a small Heartless grew. Before Sora knew it, at least a dozen of the smallest-variety of Heartless had appeared around he, Donald and Goofy. Their bodies jerked and swayed, while their twisted black antennae twitched in response to sensing a heart,. "Now you'll know that nobody—and I mean nobody!-messes with the mighty Pete!" Pete gestured the Heartless forward, and Sora had to admit that this guy had at least a tiny influence over the Heartless.

Easily dodging the small creatures and dispatching them, Sora couldn't help but feel his fighting rhythm return. He felt connected to the Keyblade; he felt his style return. The Keyblade, Oathkeeper chain attached, swung gracefully and accurately, sending Heartless back into darkness in perfect unison with Goofy and Donald. Soon enough, the entire legion of Heartless were gone, and Pete watched, flabbergasted.

"I...ah..." Pete mumbled.

"So, 'mighty' Pete..." Sora grinned and rested the Keyblad over his shoulders. "Who lives in this tower, anyway?"  
>"Ya don't know, eh?" Pete puffed himself up. "Well, it's old Yen Sid. Anybody who's anybody should know that. 'Course..." Pete glanced upward at the tower and simultaneously created a dark portal beside him. "He's probably a Heartless by now..."<p>

"Master Yen Sid lives here?" Donald gasped and, with a quick lightning bolt that knocked Pete—roaring about his revenge—into the dark portal, rushed through the tower's doors.

"Uh, who's-?" Sora started.

"Yen Sid was the King's teacher!" Goofy responded, slowly following Donald. "He's one of the greatest Sorcerers to ever wave a wand!"

Sora raised his eyebrows, impressed. As he followed Goofy into the tower, though, he couldn't help but wonder why there were still Heartless around-hadn't they stopped the Heartless when they defeated Ansem? And what was the deal with this Pete guy?

* * *

><p>To Sora, the tower made no sense. It followed no straight pathways, and some halls were longer than the building had appeared wide from the outside. Some doors led to some rooms, while other times, those same doors led to different rooms. Even if the Heartless that Pete had sent were in here somewhere, Sora was sure there was no way they would find their way out.<p>

Somehow, Donald finally opened a door that led into a perfectly circular room, lined with alternating bookcases and windows that looked out into the night. Seated in the center of the room, behind a large and ornate wooden desk, sat a man in blue robes and a blue, pointed hat covered in stars. He had a dark gray beard that was so long it disappeared below the desk. Bushy eyebrows, curved above large eyes, almost reached the man's pointed hat. The man reminded Sora of Merlin the Wizard, although Merlin was far more grandfatherly, while this man was...far more intimidating. He showed no reaction to the sudden entrance into his sanctum, in fact, he had been staring at the door when they had entered. Sora figured that their appearance was no surprise to this wizard, whose eyes told Sora everything he needed to know about this man's immense power. Immediately, Donald and Goofy bowed their heads

Donald spoke quietly with reverence. "Master Yen Sid! It is truly an honor!"

"Hello!" Sora greeted pleasantly.

Donald and Goofy flinched, and Donald shot Sora a glare. "Sora! Show some respect!"

Sora cringed and inclined his head as well, looking up only when Yen Sid began to speak, each word measured and spoken with great deliberation.

"Donald and Goofy...it is always a great joy to finally put faces to names. And you-" his dark eyes fell on Sora. "Are Sora." he didn't so much ask for confirmation on Sora's name, as he sounded as though he had simply just declared it to be. Sora felt a chill go down his spine as Yen Sid looked at him—didn't glare, didn't stare, just a look. Shortly, Yen Sid continued. "Have you seen the King?"

"Yes, we sure did, Master! But we didn't get the chance to talk to him." Goofy looked up, his head having still been bowed.

"Yes...the King has been quite busy as of late. Therefore, it would seem that the task of instructing you three has fallen upon my shoulders." Yen Sid gazed at each in turn. "A perilous quest lies before you. You must be well-prepared."

Sora felt his heart sigh. "You mean...this is another quest? It's just...I was looking forward to finding my friend Riku and going back to our Islands!"

Yen Sid acknowledged Sora's sentiment with a nod. "Yes, I know. However, everything in your journeys is connected, Sora. Whether you will find your way home to the Islands...whether you will return alone or with you friend..." Sora's heart dropped at Yen Sid's possible future. "or whether or not the Islands will even exist to return to...the Key that connects them all is you, Sora."

"What..are you talking about? Why wouldn't the Islands be there?" Sora exclaimed, worry and concern evident in his voice.

"All possibilities, everything that could potentially occur, are what you must come to terms with, Chosen Wielder of the Keyblade. You are the Key that will open the Door to Light, and that door could lie along many roads."

Sora wondered where he had heard that phrase before—that he would open the "door to light". It felt familiar... "But the Islands, Riku-"

"Are each potential paths that your course may take."

"But-" Sora started again, but Donald interrupted him.

"Excuse me, Master Yen Sid-why do the Heartless still appear?" Donald shot Sora a quick look that clearly said "stop questioning the Master", before swinging back to Yen Sid, eagerly.

"Bearing your past endeavors in mind, you three did prevent an immense effusion of Heartless from the great darkness, without which our universe would be forever extinguished-waiting to be slowly devoured by the Heartless." Yen Sid steepled his fingers. "However, the Heartless are a natural byproduct of this universe. Until darkness is eliminated in every heart, it would be impossible to stop the Heartless. They will continue to the slip through the cracks, and take more hearts for themselves."

Sora sighed and rolled his eyes. "Is there any good news?"

"There is a light to this knowledge." Yen Sid acknowledged. "Without the Great Darkness, the Heartless will have a much more laborious time devouring worlds and their Keyholes."

Sora was glad for that, at least. While he had been really hoping his previous adventure had stopped the Heartless once and for all, at least something good had come from it.

"Now, it is time to speak of the enemies you will encounter, for there are far more beimgs in this world than just Heartless." Yen Sid gestured across his desk and small Heartless appeared on it. Sora jumped and summoned the Keyblade, before Yen Sid waved him off. "It is simply a projection, Keyblade Master. You may lower your weapon." Sora did so, while Yen Sid continued to explain. "A being is made up of three parts: The Heart, the Soul—some may call it the mind- and the Body." Yen Sid created an image of Donald beside the little Heartless. "When one such as you, Donald, yields to the darkness in their heart, they become a Heartless." Yen Sid waved away the projection, just as the little Heartless leaped at Donald. "You already know this well, though. What you do not know is that, at times, when one becomes a Heartless, be they evil or good, the empty shell, the body, that is left behind can begin to act with a will of its own. These empty vessels, spirits that go on even as its being fades-" Yen Sid again waved, and before Sora stood one of the weird white creatures that had attacked them in Twilight Town. It bobbed back and forth, its body swinging, but it did not move otherwise. "For you see, Nobodies do not truly exist at all. These Nobodies may pretend to have feelings, beings, but this is a ruse-they only pretend to have hearts. You must not be deceived."

Sora felt his heart sink looking at the creatures—now tragic and horrifying beyond words to him. Empty bodies, the byproduct of a Heartless.

"The type of Nobody you see before you is known as a Dusk. They are the most common form of Nobodies. There are, though, many, many others—some with frightening and unique powers. Be vigilant, Keyblade Master, though they are naught but empty shells. However..." Yen Sid waved his hand again and three men in black cloaks appeared, hoods drawn up as to shadow their faces. Sora's eye widened in shock, and he heard a sharp intake of breath from Donald and Goofy. These were the same cloaked men from his first journey! The man in Deep Jungle! Or Agrabah when they fought that giant Heartless! Or the Unknown in Hollow Bastion! These were those guys!

Yen Sid smiled at Sora's understanding and continued."The beings you see before you now...are different. There are powerful Nobodies, and these ones have formed a group called 'Organization XII'. It commands the lesser nobodies."

So all those cloaked guys were one group? What had they been trying to do? Aside from the last guy in Hollow Bastion, they seemed to have been helping him. Why did this Organization care about him at all?

"While the Heartless act on instinct, the Nobodies function in a higher man. These humanoid Nobodies, Organization XII, can think and plan, and they seem to be working towards a goal." Yen Sid sighed. "What that goal is, we do not know. The King sensed the danger, and journeyed forth to fight it. He found the dark realm's Keyblade and with it, helped you to close the door. Now he is on the move from world to world, fighting the Heartless as he seeks the answer to the riddle of Organization XIII."

Sora was relatively interested in this "Organization", but he couldn't really understand why it was so important. Sure, that one guy had beaten him and the Beast up pretty badly, and he would love to know why, but it seemed that those two others had actually helped him; by leading the way through the Jungle and defeating the giant Heartless. To Sora, the more important issue here was, still, to find the King and by finding the King, to find Riku.

"Gee, Master Yen Sid," Goofy started. "It seems to me that you talked about the Hearts and the Heartless, and them Nobodies and their bodies, but what about that there third part of a person?"

"Ah, Goofy, excellent question." Yen Sid replied. "Even I do not fully understand the soul. It's working are intricate, and its connections complex. Some might say it is more involved in the Heart, some might say it is more at work in that of the body—it is, truly, a mystery that has no answer as of yet. The inner workings of a person: the heart, soul and body, are an ocean of mystery we have only just arrived at the beach of."

"So we should be searching for the King, Master Yen Sid, and figure out what we can about Organization XIII along the way?" Donald asked

"Precisely, Donald." Yen Sid confirmed. "But before you three leave, I believe Sora could use more suitable traveling clothes. His current dress appears a bit too small for him."

Sora looked down at his red jumpsuit with his bright yellow shoes, which, oddly didn't seem quite as big as they used to appear. He pulled at the jacket across his chest, noticing for the first time how tight it seemed to be. His sleeves and pant legs, as well, seemed to stop further up his arms and legs than they used to. Weird, when had that all happened?

"Gawrsh, Sora, you sure are growing fast!" Goofy marveled, chuckling.

Yen Sid waved one of his long, bony hands over Sora, then the other, then both together. A swirling cloud spun around Sora, starting around his feet, and twisted its way up his body until it completely covered him. Aside from the wind whipping around him, Sora felt nothing as the small storm started and subsided. After it dissipated, however, he saw Donald and Goofy look at him in awe and saw the look of pride on Yen Sid's face.

"Wow, Sora, you should get a good look at yourself!" Goofy grinned and pointed behind Sora.

Sora turned and found himself staring into a full-length mirror that reflected a whole different Sora. Instead of the bright red jumpsuit, Sora now wore a black and dark blue one with a hooded jacket and matching gloves. The pant legs and jacket sleeves were large and freeing, just as Sora liked it, as well as the gloves being fingerless. Along with the black and dark blue, the new outfit also incorporated dark reds and yellows into with, with red pouches on the legs held up by criss-crossing yellow straps. Sora's shoes as well, which he had to admit _had_ started to become a little embarrassing, had been changed to be more well-fitting, with yellow and black as their colors. The new clothing was not the only difference to Sora, though, as he also noted with surprise that he seemed quite a bit taller than the last time he has seen himself. His face seemed leaner and his hair, as well, seemed longer—now starting to finally obey gravity and fall at the very tips of his many spikes (which, though, were still as spiky as ever, much to Sora's continued pride).

Sora had to admit, he couldn't have picked out a better outfit. Not that he was ever really that could at picking fashion, or so Kairi had always told him. If only he could be like Riku and just...automatically know what cool clothing to wear...

"Thank goodness the shoes are gone.." Donald mumbled.

"Hey!" Sora responded quickly, still defensive of his choice. "Me and those shoes went through a lot together!"

Yen Sid smiled deeply. "There is so much more to you, Sora, Keyblade Master, than even you can comprehend. I am imbuing you with the ability to tap into your deepening heart even more. You'll soon understand what I mean." Yen Sid waved his hands once more, arching his fingers at Sora. A simple, seconds-long white glow was all that resulted. "It is only fair to warn you, though, that this power also derives from your friends and their hearts. They come together to form the foundation that supports your own heart, therefore, the powers you will unlock may require a merging of sorts between you and your friends. Fear not, they will return once the energy releases itself. You will come to know this energy as 'Drive Forms', for lack of a better term."

Sora raised an eyebrow at the wizard, still stretching out his new clothes. "O..k..?"

"In time you will understand." Yen Sid gestured toward a crescent-shaped window behind him. "For now, I do believe you lost this:"

Through the window, the familiar form of the Gummi Ship appeared, floating up from the ground below. "Aha!" Sora laughed, excitedly, seeing the old ship again.

"I found it floating in the vastness of space. The walls of the worlds are hopelessly gone due to the travels of Organization XIII and the machinations of the Heartless-you should have no trouble traversing the spaces between." Yen Sid sighed. "Now, that is all the information I can give to you. Go forth, Sora, Donald and Goofy. Everyone is waiting."

Donald and Goofy saluted Yen Sid and ran from the room. Sora kept eye contact with the sorcerer's dark eyes for a moment longer, before saluting him himself. "Thank you, Master Yen Sid, for all your help!" he said, meaning it, and he scurried from the room after his friends, heading towards another adventure. As the heavy door closed behind him, Sora heard Yen Sid chuckle and murmur to himself:

"What a choice it made in him."

* * *

><p>"Uhhh...Maleficent? Maaallefficceeentttt?" Pete called throughout the broken down towers. This ancient castle was where Maleficent had told him to the find her if something had happened to her main headquarters across the planet at Hollow Bastion. Since those stupid do-gooders were now in control of it, Pete supposed he had no choice but to find his mistress here in this crumbling mess of an old war base Maleficent had referred to as "Villain's Vale". It was a mass of towers, ramparts and connecting passageways, very similar to the look of Hollow Bastion, all now slowly falling apart.<p>

"Mallefficeent?" Pete called again, swallowing nervously. Had those dumb guys been right? Had they really done off with Maleficent? What would happen to their plan now?

Pete quieted as he walked through the long passageway that led to the center tower. He was too afraid of the creepy echo in the tunnel to make a sound. As he emerged out of the other side, he noticed that the upper floors, walls and ceilings of the middle tower had collapsed since he had last been to the Vale, leaving just a mid-level floor, set in a circle, with low, jagged, uneven walls open to the night air. The evening moon illuminated rubble and collapsed masonry, as well as a single figure in black standing in the middle of the large room. He stood, back turned to Pete, in front of a round stone table. Terrified, Pete held back in the shadows of the tunnel and watched the mystery figure. Within minutes, several other figures in black cloaks emerged out of the darkness, six in all, and gathered around the table. Silence blanketed the open room. Pete could barely breathe. One of the figures approached the first and spoke to him quietly, in a deep, monotone voice.

"Number VIII has not yet joined us, my Superior."

"His influence is negligible. Continue, VII"

The one who had approached the first produced a round shape, covered in a black covering. Pulling back the covering, the shape was revealed to be a cage. Inside, a raven began to squawk angrily, interrupting the silence. Pete cowered back further, recognizing the Raven as Maleficent's favorite pet.

Without direction, five of the six figures placed their hands on the stone table, as the original figure took the raven from the cage, gripping it in his left hand. The raven ceased to screech and squirm. The black figure moved the bird over the table and placed his right hand over the bird's beak. Suddenly, and without warning, a bright blade of red light lit from the figure's hand and shot straight through the raven. Pete gasped, covering his mouth with his hand to quiet himself, and felt his legs tremble. The figure let the raven's body drop to the table, where it began to ooze darkness that ran off the table in waterfalls. The figure turned, in unison with the five others, to face Pete and Pete felt his blood run cold and his entire being fail him. Faceless creatures, covered by cloaks all stared directly at Pete. At length, darkness still flowing from the raven, the original figure spoke.

"We leave this in your hands."

With that, the figures, one by one, disappeared back into the darkness they had come from. From the stone table, Pete watched in fear, and some strange comfort, as the darkness took on a long, silhouetted form he recognized. The darkness crept into a long, shimmering black cloak that led to a pale green, elegant face with two devilish horns.

"Hello, Peter." Maleficent greeted smoothly, looking down at the body of the raven below her. "It appears as though my plan of connecting my heart to that of Diablo was not one born in foolishness." She stepped down from the table, and called forth her long, green tipped staff through an explosion of green fire.

"Tell me, Peter, what has happened in my absence?"

Pete felt his legs give out and his eyes roll back in his head as his poor consciousness, thoroughly overwhelmed, ran in fear.

* * *

><p>Axel gazed out at the orange sun visible from Sunset Hill, as he leaned over the wooden railings. The real sunset appeared even more beautiful than the one from DiZ's world, and if he had had emotions, he was sure he would be moved to tears or some BS. He wondered for a moment if he could even understand the concept of "beauty" before he decided to finally go back to listening to what the man-in-the-other-black-cloak-who-definitely-wasn't-part-of-the-Organization was saying.<p>

"As I said, I want no part in DiZ's selfish revenge scheme. I cannot believe he would use so many just for the sake of sating his own darkness." The cloaked man gestured toward the blonde in the white dress who currently sat beside Axel, drawing absently in a sketchbook. "That's why I've brought her to you, Axel. You're not like the rest. You're different, I know. I'm willing to bet on you."

Axel snorted. What a sentimental idiot. He wasn't making very good choices here. Naminé

on the other hand...Axel gazed down at the girl he hadn't seen since Castle Oblivion. "You have no place to go, do you?" He asked her. "No place to go back to either..." he looked back out at the sunset in the distance, absently thinking about the sun's heat. "Those places don't exist for us..."

Naminé looked up from her drawing. "Maybe there isn't a...place I can go back to, but-" she looked back down at her sketchbook. "There are places I want to go to..."

Axel smirked out toward the sunset, knowing neither of the others could see his face. "Yep...places to go, people to see..." he gazed with one eye over his shoulder at the not-Organization cloaked guy. "Well, how about you let us leave? Unless DiZ wants you to eliminate me too?"

"DiZ...told you to eliminate me?" Naminé asked quietly, surprise evident.

The cloaked didn't respond. He turned and created a black portal and walked towards it. "Go. I owe you two."

"You do...?" Naminé asked.

"Yes...from Castle Oblivion." the black cloak walked into the portal and disappeared.

Axel grinned, and yelled to the sky. "Then I'll accept your offer, mystery man! C'mon, Nam..." Axel grinned all the wider. "We've got big plans!"

* * *

><p><em>Secret Ansem Report 2:<em>

_I have made a grave mistake._

_My study of the "darkness of the heart" began with a simple psychological test and quickly snowballed._

_Spurred on by my youngest apprentice Ienzo, I constructed a massive laboratory in the basement of the Castle._

_Unbeknownst to me, my six apprentices then began collecting a large number of subjects on which to perform dangerous experiments into the "darkness of the heart"_

_As soon as I found out, I called my apprentices together and ordered them not only to cease their studies, but to destroy the results of their research thus far._

_What on earth was happening within the hearts of my six beloved apprentices? While pursuing the mystery of the darkness of the heart, could they themselves have strayed into its depths?_

_Yet, I remain the most foolish of all, for having begun these experiments.  
>We are not meant to interfere in the depths of another's heart, no matter what our reason for doing so...and this, my error, plunged me into despair.<em>

_A visitor from another world soothed my dejected soul. A diminutive king named Mickey came wielding a legendary Key-the infamous "Keyblade," said to bring both chaos and prosperity to the world. He was very knowledgeable on many topics, and we deepened our friendship as we conversed companionably._

_Upon his advice, I decided to review the data obtained at my basement lab._

_That is when I discovered the "Ansem Reports"_

_Though they bore my name, the only one I had written was number 0._

_Apparently, he had gone on to pen the rest himself, so far.  
>Yes: <strong>HE<strong>-the first subject in my foolish experiments._

_~Ansem the Wise_


	7. Return to Hollow Bastion

_**Chapter VII: Return to Hollow Bastion  
><strong>__While there is life, there is hope.  
><em>_~Marcus Tullius Cicero_

The Gummi Ship plowed smoothly through the emptiness of space, headed toward a destination that had already been pre-programmed into its navigation system before Yen Sid had handed the ship over. Sora, comforted by the familiar soft whir of the ship's engines, lay upside down in one of the pilot chairs, letting the new Ansem report dangle from his limp hand. This new report had added a whole different layer of confusion to the subject of Ansem. New questions crowded inside Sora's mind-Who was this "Ansem the Wise" that signed these new reports compared to the Ansem from the first set of reports? What was the connection? And who was the "he" this new Ansem talked about?

A few hours into flight already, and Sora had already mulled these ideas over endlessly to no new conclusion. Since this new report was titled "2", Sora figured, just like the old reports, there must be more of these and they might hold the answers to these questions.

"Geeze, Sora, how do you even know the guy who wrote those papers was even named Ansem?" Donald asked, ambling his way into the cockpit. "You're just gonna trust a random piece of paper just because it says it's written by another Ansem?"

"Well..." Sora wriggled in his seat, attempting a shrug. "I guess so... I haven't had a reason to doubt these reports yet!"

"Until now." Donald smirked.

"Yeah, until now.." Sora admitted.

Donald looked beyond, out through the viewport. "Looks like you might be able to ask someone who has a clue."

"Huh?" Sora rolled his head to look out into space, but found that he couldn't from his position. With a deft twist, he rolled to the floor, and pulled himself up over the control board, looking out at a world he couldn't forget—wide, blue swaths of land crowned by an enormous castle, its top most ramparts poking through the clouds:

Hollow Bastion.

* * *

><p>Sora took it back. He <em>must<em> have forgotten about this world, because there was simply was no way this could be the same place. The Hollow Bastions streets—STREETS!-that he currently walked through reminded him nothing of the last time he was here, when all he knew was the endless castle and its water-filled, misty surroundings.

Hollow Bastion now almost looked like a town. While in orbit, Sora had gotten a fairly good view of it. The Castle itself was actually just the center of a network of streets and houses that spread out in a circle on all sides. The town seemed to be built on varying plateaus, with rivers and waterfalls working their way down the levels in a fashion that had to have been built. Those tamed rivers must have been the source of the great pools of water surrounding the Castle last time he was here. The edges of the town were starkly noted, with imposing walls that stretched up to cover the highest points on all sides. Outside the walls was endless blue-rock ground, stretching out in canyons and ravines, as far as could be seen. The only trees or vegetation seemed to be cultivated within the city, which, compared to the outside, was rather colorful. Seeing it at ground level, Sora was awed by the people that bustled through the streets and the tall cranes that stood around the Castle, lifting pieces of stone or supplies to be used in fully reconstructing the ancient building.

"Garwsh! It all looks so different now!" Goofy marveled, the same awe evident in his face. Sora was thrilled. Hollow Bastion just seemed so...alive! It clamored, chattered and was generally unrecognizable as the hopeless, mist-covered place it had once been.

"I hope Leon and the gang are doing okay!" Donald spoke up, looking down upon the lower parts of the town.

Sora smiled. "I bet they were the ones who put all this together!"

"Sora?!" Sora turned to his name just in time to see a black blur dive at him, tackling him to the ground.

"A heartless!" Goofy exclaimed, pulling forth his shield.

"What? No, silly, it's me!" the black form sat up straight, lounging on Sora's chest. "Yuffie! The great Ninja!"

"Yu...ffi..e...?" Sora wheezed, noting that it was, indeed, the young ninja girl, clad in a black jacket and shorts, eyes still bright and wide as ever.

"The one and only!" Yuffie grinned a smile that overtook her entire face, and flicked Sora on the nose. "Who else would'yah expect?"

"How's everybody else gettin' along?" Goofy asked, welcoming.

"Great!" Yuffie nodded emphatically. "We've been rebuilding the town for awhile now. I always told 'em we'd see you guys again!"

"We may...never meet again...but we'll...never forget each other." Sora grumbled.

Yuffie laughed. "Was that supposed to be Leon? 'cause it sucks!"

Donald and Goofy snorted. "Well...it...might have...been better...if you weren't still..." Sora mumbled and motioned.

"Oh! Right!" Yuffie snorted, climbed off of Sora, and helped him to his feet. "Everybody's working at stuff over at Merlin's house! C'mon!"

Sora brushed himself off. "Where's that?"

Yuffie grabbed his wrist and started dragging him, Donald and Goofy following up behind. "It's justa hop, skip and a jump away!"

To Yuffie, Sora soon learned, those hops, skips and jumps were all down ledges, across streams, and at one or two points, over some heads. Within minutes, they stood before a wide, wooden house, with a dome that opened for a large telescope to poke out of it.

Yuffie disappeared into the house, kicking the door with her foot, "Hey, guys, guess who!"

Sora slowly walked through the door into the house Donald and Goofy in tow, while Yuffie bowed regally at their entrance. "Welcome to the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!"

Inside the house it was a pleasantly warm, with a fire crackling beside a large dining table surrounded by many chairs of varying shapes and sizes. Different bookshelves and papers lay scattered about that Sora somewhat recognized from Merlin's old house in Traverse Town, and a large computer system, very much _un_recognized, stood up against one wall, The chair in front of the monitors spun around and Cid leaned back in a typical Cid-greeting(or acknowledgment). "Damn, kid! What a surprise. It's been awhile."

"Sora!" Aerith cheered as she walked through an inner doorway, a tray of teacups in her hands. "Welcome! It's so good to see you again!"

"I knew it." Sora jumped to hear someone speak beside him, and for the first time noticed Leon leaning against the wall beside the door.

"Knew what, Leon?" Sora responded, smiling to see all his friends, already slipping into the familiarity.

"Awhile back, everyone suddenly remembered the three of you, all at the same time." Leon replied, looking at Sora only as much as seemed absolutely necessary.

"Wait...you remembered?" Sora balked. "You guys had forgotten us?"

"Gee, thanks..." Donald mumbled.

Leon shrugged. Aerith replied for him. "It was the strangest thing. For most of the year, no one remembered you. Then, recently, we all remembered-and no one could recall when we had first forgotten."

"A year?" Sora paused. "Wait a second! Is that how long we've been gone?"

"You mean you don't remember?" Aerith intoned, placing her tray on the table.

"What? You gotta a brain made of swiss cheese or somethin'?" Cid snorted.

"We were sleepin'!"Goofy replied with his typical exuberance

"Sleeping? For a year?" Leon raised a single, skeptic eyebrow.

"Well, ah," Sora rubbed the back of his neck. "That's our best guess...we just woke up in these..things..." he trailed off, not quite sure how to describe much else of what had happened in Twilight Town.

"Well, no matter for now!" Aerith beamed and hoisted a new tray, this one filled with pastries and cookies. "You three must be quite hungry after all that time! Sit down and help yourselves!" Sora hadn't noticed when or how Aerith had left, retrieved the snacks and returned in record time, but his stomach, which he suddenly noticed for the first time was not very pleased, convinced him not to care and, instead, race Donald to the dining table.

"Damn! I believe your whole big nap, 'cause not even Yuffie eats that fast-" Cid chortled, watching Sora, Donald and Goofy more-or-less inhale Aerith's food. "-so you three _musta _beenasleep for a year."

Sora smiled sheepishly and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "So what's been going on around here?"

"Hollow Bastion's got a problem, a big problem." Leon responded, glancing out the window.

"Like Heartless-and-Nobodies level of problems!" Yuffie added.

Sora swatted Donald's hand away from a blueberry something-or-other. "You guys know about the Nobodies?!"

Cid sighed and swung back to his computer. "Hard not to, when they're just starin' us down from outside the walls. That old wizard knows his stuff; 'least enough to tell us what they were."

"Sounds like you could use our help!" Sora replied.

"We _were_ hoping you three might give us a hand around here." Leon answered.

Sora cracked his knuckles and pushed his chair back from the table, grinning, all the trays and plates empty. "Like we're gonna say no?"

Leon harrumphed and walked out of the house, clearly expecting Sora to follow. "I forgot who I was dealing with."

Just as Leon exited, Merlin, large tome in hand, entered from the back of the house. "Oh! I thought all this racket might be you three! At least Yuffie isn't swinging from the ceiling beams again..."

At this, Yuffie jerked, almost falling from the chair she had been using to reach for the rafters of the house, just out of Merlin's view. She motioned for Sora to not say a thing, and poked her head out from around the bookcase separating her from Merlin. "Sora and the gang said they're gonna help out!"

"Splendid! We'll be counting on you!" Merlin lifted his book."You're actually just in time, Sora. Remember Winnie the Pooh?"

"Of course I do!" Sora replied, worriedly. "Did something happen to his book?"

"No...not exactly. Somewhere between here and Traverse Town, I found that, somehow, new pages were missing from the book, quite distinct from those you had found before." Merlin stroked his beard. "It's still a mystery to me how this occurred, but I think it would be prudent for you to keep your eyes peeled for more of these mysterious pages."

Sora nodded vigorously, "Of course!"

"Ahem." Leon, stepping back inside and rapped on the open door.

"Oh, right! Sorry Leon!" Sora quickly acknowledged and followed the older man outside with Donald and Goofy. Aerith waved farewell and started to clean the table as Yuffie slipped off her chair again and provoked Merlin's very interested attention. Cid yelled over his shoulder, out of the open door: "And watch out for the town's Claymore defense system! It pack a huge-ass punch!"

* * *

><p>The wall of Hollow Bastion, while imposing and easily more than twice as wide as Sora was tall, was far from completely rebuilt in several places. Enormous gaps, ringed in by collapsed wall and broken rubble as if monstrous siege machines had pummeled their way into the city decades ago, allowed for easy entrance into the city. These damaged portions were surrounded by small, walled-in and gated baileys atop the wall. At the ground level, temporary fortifications in the form of earthworks and ramparts separated the outside of the city from the inside.<p>

Leon, standing within the upper bailey with Sora, Donald and Goofy, gestured at abandoned construction equipment and tools. "We've tried to rebuild these sections of the wall, but because of that-" Leon gestured to a telescope that was focused out into the blue-rock plains beyond the city. "You might see why we've found that to be difficult."

Goofy took the scope in his hands and peered through. "Gawrsh, Sora! You'd better take a good look at this!"

It took a moment for his eyes to focus, but when Sora peeked through the lens, he found himself staring into a mass of black with dots of yellow. Pulling the focus back a little, Sora's mouth dropped open to see that he was staring into what was, essentially, an ocean of Heartless. Occasionally, within the mass, Sora spotted a swiveling silver form—a Nobody, a Dusk. They writhed and swarmed around what appeared to be a broken-down castle in the distance, with some stragglers dotting the canyon that seemed to link the swarm to Hollow Bastion.

"It's too dangerous for our workers to spend much time repairing the wall." Leon glared down at the collapsed fortifications. "The town's defense system, along with our policing teams and Merlin's magic, does a well-enough job of keeping the occasional Heartless group that appear inside the walls under control, but outside of our defenses..."

"Sounds like our expertise!" Donald brandished his wand.

Leon smirked. "I figured as much."

"We've taken care of Heartless before." Sora took another look into the telescope. "It's these Nobodies, though, that I'm not really sure about..."

"You called?"

Sora felt his skin crawl as a deep voice oozed its way into his ears. The Oathkeeper came impulsively to his hand, with Donald, Goofy and Leon following his lead. The four faced their backs to each other, quickly scanning the surroundings for where the voice—that horrifically familiar voice—had come from.

"Who's this, Sora?" Leon grunted.

Sora felt his heart racing. It was the man.

"Yes...Sora." The deep voice seeped in from every direction. "The doubtless time I spoke of has now arrived."

The man from Hollow Bastion's Grand Hall. The Unknown.

Across the dilapidated wall, within the opposite bailey, darkness took physical form and six cloaked figures appeared. Sora started, recognizing the cloaks as those worn by the man in Deep Jungle and the man in Agrabah, And of course, the Unknown man who had beaten Sora to a pulp in the Grand Hall—those who Sora now recognized as-

"Organization XIII!" Donald accused.

Hollow laughs rang across the gap. The Unknown raised his arms. "I believe it may be occasion for celebration!"

In the distance, a deep rumble was heard. Sora looked around confusedly, absently judging if he could make the jump across the gap to reach the six figures, as Leon dove to the edge of the bailey and glowered out towards the plain. "Damn. They're coming." In one motion, Leon grabbed a rope that Sora had not noticed until now, and gave it a sharp pull. From deep within the upper limits of the bailey, a great bell rang out. Sora heard commotion within the city, as the rumble became louder. Sora ran to the edge of the bailey, over the gap, and leaned out to see what had caused Leon's reaction. He gripped the Keyblade tighter as his eyes fell upon a rampage of Heartless and Nobodies, swarming towards the gap in the walls. The creatures moved not by simply walking, but in the form of what Sora could only describe as a wave, monsters crawling and pouring over each other, rolling ever closer, attempting, it seemed, to crash upon the walls like a flood against the beach.

While Sora had been watching the approaching force, Leon had climbed down to stand behind the ground-level defenses, at the head of a small force that had appeared from within the town. Leon cocked his gunblade and swung in into a defensive posture, the militia behind him readying themselves as well. Looking up, Sora's heart swelled in anger as the six cloaked figures of Organization XIII simply stood and watched the approaching attack. The yellow eyes of the Unknown leader turned to stare at Sora, and he swore he might've seen a glinting row of teeth turned upwards within the dark. Sora's emotions rolled as violently as the approaching waves at the injustice. How dare these six monsters just sit and watch this destruction that they had caused unfold? Glaring down at the Heartless, Sora twirled the Keyblade and, catching Donald and Goofy's readied glances, prepared himself to jump into the swarm. Just as his feet left the ground, however, he felt something drastically change. Something warmed within him, as Donald and Goofy disappeared from his view. His concern spiked, but he had no time to register the emotion as he was blinded, suddenly, by an explosion of light that seemed to come from himself. Sora felt a rush and when the light cleared, he felt the cold metal of another blade in his left hand. It took him a moment, still mid-jump, to realize that he now held two blades—Oathkeeper and his original silver and gold Kingdom Key—and that his clothes had become almost entirely red. Sora's emotions felt high, adrenaline pumping through his body. This must be one of the "Drive Forms" Yen Sid had talked about! Sora grinned. Perfect timing.

_Valor Form._

Sora finished his jump, twirling and twisting in the air, before crashing perfectly on the ground; Kingdom Key supporting his landing, Oathkeeper lifted behind his head. Pebbles and small pieces of rubble jumped into the air from the force of his stop. He looked up into the onslaught and leaped in, as if the Heartless were waves back home, turning and spinning the Keyblades in a circle around him. Leon's men cheered and charged, fending off the hungry claws of the approaching shadow Heartless.

Sora felt himself act more on instinct than any form of planning. He felt confident and zealous, swinging both of his Keyblades in tight, deft movements that banished both Heartless and Nobodies. He spun and blocked, striking out, jabbing out, before returning to a ready position-only to strike out again. Sora's muscles felt tight, like springs ready to release or rubber bands about to snap. Every slash exploded like lightning, with barely a conscious thought.

Through the swarm of creatures, Sora heard the deep, thick voice again. "The Keyblade...a truly marvelous weapon; were it only in more...capable hands." followed by more empty chuckles. Through the thinning Heartless, Sora saw that the six figures still stood watching the chaos of the fight. Launching himself off a nearby Nobody—more solid than a wispy Heartless—Sora began to jump and climb his way up the craggy, collapsed wall to the opposite bailey. From his higher vantage point, Sora vaguely noticed Leon's militia bravely fighting the Heartless. Leon was in the thick of it, dispatching Heartless with great swings, followed up by gunshots from his blade. Sora paid little attention to the battle, though, as his focus was upon the six figures ahead. Scrambling hand and foot up the face of the wall, Sora took both Keyblades in hand and prepared to launch himself into the midst of Organization XIII. Just as he took to the air, blades raised to slash, the Unknown leader nodded and, imperceptibly fast, a figure to his right sprung at Sora's approaching jump. Before Sora could adjust himself, the cloaked figure manifested an enormous white and blue spiked Claymore in his grip and soundly backhanded Sora with it. Barely able to raise the Keyblades to block the attack, Sora felt pain roar up over his entire body. He was immediately sent crashing straight into the ground below, colliding into it with a great smash that dispersed dozens of Heartless. He immediately felt his body drain and one of the Keyblades disappear, as he tried to catch the breath that had been so soundly knocked out of him. He faintly heard the sound of the ending battle around him, and Goofy's concerned—and confused- cries, as Sora tried to pull himself up. Gasping, he looked up to find the Unknown leader's yellow eyes boring down into him, chillingly reminiscent of what had occured in the Great Hall.

"What a shame..." the Unknown seemed to sigh. "And here I thought we could be friends."

In one moment, darkness overcame five of the six of the figures and they disappeared. The remaining one vaulted off of the bailey and slid down the remnants of the damaged wall on only his feet. Upon reaching the bottom, he stepped briskly out of the slide and called a long, rifle-like weapon to one hand and pointed it, close range, at Sora's forehead. Too exhausted to respond, Sora simply stared up at the figure, noticing this Organization XIII member was thin and slight, with a tall hood. Suddenly, a blast of ice knocked the rifle out of Sora's face and Donald roared: "Hey! What's the big idea!"

The figure shrugged and flexed his hand, weapon disappearing with the movement. "Oopsy-daisy!"

"I suggest you get moving." Leon's no-nonsense voice commanded, his own weapon cocked at the figure while his militia tended to their wounded or mopped up the remaining Heartless.

"Now, really, do you think that's polite? Shutting me down like that?" The cloaked figure spoke in a tone of playful apathy, with just a hint of an accent that Sora associated with the surfers of the west coast of Morningheath, his home.

"You might want to listen to him..." Sora coughed.

"As if!" The figure threw his arms up. "You can talk all you want, but it won't change a thing. None of you even know what the deal here is, do you?"

Sora finally found enough energy to summon the Keyblade, but paused. What _was_ the deal with the Organization? Yen Sid had only warned they were trouble, but why? What were they after? Why hadn't they fought this battle, too? Why sit back and watch?

"I shouldn't have to repeat myself." Leon interjected, face made of stone. "Move."

The Organization member chuckled, but to Sora, it sounded only as if he was trying to imitate a laugh. "Nice face! I could see that working if I were just any old dude-'cept, I'm not. Me, I'm with the Organization. Nothing 'any old' about me."

"Tough talk for someone who just stood on the sidelines while his pawns did the fighting." Leon responded.

"Oh dear..." The Organization member looked back and forth among Leon, Sora, Donald and Goofy. "I think you all got the wrong impression. We might need to remind you, Roxas, how tough the crowd you're dealing with really is."

Sora glared determinedly up at the cloaked character. "What do you mean by remind me? And who's Roxas?"

Again, the tall man chuckled emptily. "That right! He used to give that exact same look!"

Sora glanced in bewilderment at Leon and his friends to see if they had any idea what this guy was going on about.

They didn't.

Donald suddenly charged at the figure. "Let's get him!"

The cloaked man, extremely fast, just wagged his finger at Sora and disappeared into darkness, warning "Be a good boy now!" just as Donald dove towards his vanishing form. The duck mage tumbled onto the earth and pounded his fists against the ground. "Rats! He got away!"

Leon sheathed his gunblade on his hip and turned to survey the damage against his men and barricades. "I'd ask you what that was about, Sora, but it doesn't look like you have any better idea."

Sora breathed out and fell back against the ground. He certainly didn't.

* * *

><p>Number I looked out over the perfectly circular, white room. From his seat atop the tallest throne, he had a perfect view of every other lower throne in Where Nothing Gathers, both the empty and filled.<p>

"The Hero of Light seemed quite shocked..." Number III spoke up, a mockery of disgust in his voice—the only thing Number III still attempted to imitate. "It's ten years too early for a child like that to wield the Keyblade."

"Eh, well isn't that good for us! Now the little sap will keep going on obediently ahead, like a little puppy of the light!" Number II grinned widely, almost as if he enjoyed this charade.

Without tone, Number VII interrupted. "If he doesn't, we will have no further use for him."

"Not even as entertainment?" Number X fanned out a deck of cards.

Number IX spoke up, "Pick a good card for me! Relax, everyone, it'll be fine."

Number II snorted. "Well, aren't you the confident one. So if anything happens, you'll cover it, eh?"

"Huh? Me!?" Number IX ran his fingers through his hair awkwardly. "Ah, menial work isn't really my thing..."  
>"Stop this." Number III announced. "Acting as if you have hearts does nothing but mislead us."<p>

"There goes all my entertainment..." Number X mumbled.

"Gentlemen..." Number I finally spoke up. "The Wielder of the Keyblade once again walks the path...let us plant seeds in that route."

Number I watched his...fellows...disappear, one by one, all but he himself. He steeped his fingers. If all it took to awaken the boy's ire was a simple devilish smile, the manipulation of this child would be quite simple indeed.

What foolish emotions.

* * *

><p>The rest of the day Sora and friends spent was with the restoration committee, rebuilding and helping around the city. They patrolled the gaps in the walls as the construction workers toiled on the repairs, and helped to move rubble that had been knocked free during the battle, among which another "Secret Ansem Report" had been found.<p>

While there had been few casualties in the Battle at the Gap—Leon had trained his men well to defend against the animalistic instincts of the Heartless- in the evening, Sora found himself walking the city with Leon to bring the heartbreaking news to the few families that had lost heroic men to the Heartless. That night, in the homeliness of Merlin's house, Sora lay awake in his makeshift cot, watching Leon rigid in front of the fire, silently staring into it for most of night. Aerith sat beside him, quietly knitting in a rocking chair; a silent, mourning, companion. As he rolled over, he caught glimpses of Cid asleep in his desk chair, Yuffie dozing against the table, Merlin snorting in his sleep with a book across his lap and Donald and Goofy snoring beside Sora, the young Keyblade Master desperately thanked whoever was out there for these people, like family, that he had-and those, like Riku and Kairi, who were not with him but who he was on his way to find.

* * *

><p><em>Secret Ansem Report 7:<em>

_While beings born of darkness and those lacking hearts may find them convenient, it is dangerous for other to make much use of the Corridors of Darkness. Darkness erodes the heart._

_In search of a place to proceed with my research and planning-away from prying eyes-I found myself in Twilight Town. It is a quiet village, forgotten in a chasm between light and darkness. I situated myself in the basement of an abandoned mansion standing beyond the woods._

_My underground research resulted in one new discovered after another._

_When a Heartless is born, the body and mind left behind are reborn into this world as a different being._

_These beings possess different intentions than their Heartless brethren, and while it is unclear what these sentient 'things' are after, it would appear they are responsible for much bedlam in the world._

_My erstwhile friend the King and his subjects, along with a Hero wielding the Keyblade, are battling the Heartless even as a new threat approaches._

_This new threat...they have a fitting name, I suppose._

_These non-beings: "Nobodies"_

_A great number of nobodies have lost human form, as have the Heartless. Yet the Nobody born of someone with a strong heart retains its shape, with but the faintest visible changes._

_It appears my betrayers have retained their human form as Nobodies, and are gathering more followers in hopes of furthering a new scheme._

_Organization XIII, formed of 13 Nobodies, with my betrayers at its core, has divided into two...they are said to be carrying out some sort of research._

_Seeking to uncover the plans of this Organization, I have decided to head for where six of its members have gathered. Towering over the outer limits of the realm between darkness and light: Castle Oblivion._

_~Ansem the Wise_

* * *

><p><em>WOW! This took so long, I've been so caught up with so many other things over vacation! <em>

_Anyway, this was going alright, but halfway through it really picked up and I realized why I missed writing so much! This chapter almost wrote itself!  
>I'm sorry for the lack of updates! The next chapter will be pretty long. I've had to adjust the Land of Dragons...<span>thoroughly.<span>  
>~Mars<em>


	8. A Show of Morale

_**.**_

_**Chapter VIII: A Show of Morale  
><strong>__Perseverance is the foundation of all actions.  
><em>_~Lao Tzu_

The landing ramp descended from the bottom of the Gummi Ship, connecting it to the forested ground beneath. Sora strolled out from within the ship, arms relaxed behind his head, his two friends following along beside him. Donald startled as the ramp beneath him morphed to the appearance of the green and brown earth, but soon composed himself when he realized the ramp had not actually disappeared. Instead, much to Sora's marvel, it had changed into a reflection of the forest around them, essentially camouflaging the ship from curious eyes.

Donald cautiously stepped off the ramp and glanced around the small clearing they had landed in. "Sora...just for the record, it's still a stupid idea. You can't just pick random worlds and hope we'll just drop the ship on the King or Riku!"

"We don't really have a lot else to go on, Donald..." Sora reached up to feel out the Gummi Ship, testing to see if it was still actually there.

Donald grumbled."Like we ever do..."

"Besides!" Sora smiled at his mage friend, "it has always seemed to work out before!"

"Ayup! Look fella's!" Goofy motioned over the treeline. "There's some smoke a'rising over there!"

Sora look in the direction Goofy was pointing and noticed, too, a thin wisp of gray rising from not too far away. "Wha'dya you say, guys, wanna investigate?"

Donald shrugged and trudged off first. "It would fit the pattern..."

Sora grinned at his friend, knowing that while he might still complain, Donald was ready to go along now. Together, the three left the Gummi Ship behind and headed towards the sign of life. The woods were not dense, such as Deep Jungle had been; the trees were more spread apart, tall and thin, and the ground was less overgrown, covered mostly in soft layers of leaves—all around, it seemed, more tame. Large and small rock formations dotted the forest; from the occasional boulder, to great masses of rock jutting forth from the earth. As they approached the source of the smoke, Sora could make out two voices in the distance conversing, but the view of the site was obscured by a grove of bamboo, or at least what Donald claimed was bamboo (as Sora has never seen it before), which had gone from sparse to thick in the last few minutes of their travel.

Sora gestured forward, slipping through the bamboo. Goofy and Donald followed behind for but a few moments before Goofy tripped and pushed Donald, who quacked, stumbled and shoved Sora into the clearing. Face in the dirt, Sora heard two voices scream, one of which sounded oddly familiar. Upon lifting his head up, Sora saw a person with a thin face, and dark, raggedy hair that was tied back with a cord, sitting across the fire from him. He wore green plates of armor all over his body, and above his right shoulder, a thin, red form peeked out that Sora recognized.

"...Mushu?" he asked, blinking and wiping the dust from his eyes.

"That's right! You've heard of me!" The red, snakelike form scurried down the other person on four thin legs and ran right up to the fire. "I'm lethal and legendary! Now scram! Or this fire's gonna be comin' out of my mouth next!"

Sora sat up and brushed himself off, chuckling in surprise to see the little dragon again. "Mushu! It's me! Us! Sora!"

Mushu blinked quickly, then guffawed. "Well fry me up like a chicken dumpling!"

"You...know them?" Mushu's companion wondered, still pulled back across the fire, somewhat skeptical.

"Know 'em?! Man, we used to kick all kinds of bad guy butt together!" Mushu strutted over to Sora and leaned casually against his leg. "Yeah, you know, I helped these guys out of a lot of tight spots; being a mighty dragon and all."

Sora smiled down at the slight exaggerations. "Who's this with you, Mushu?"

"Who, he-him?" Mushu stumbled, "He's, ah..."

"Ping!" the companion replied, coughing. "My name is Ping, son of Fa Zhou."

"Right!" Mushu snapped. "Ping. Fa Zhou. That's what I was saying!"

Feeling mildly suspicious at the turn this encounter was taking, Sora looked from Mushu back to Ping, "So...you know Mushu?"

Ping nodded emphatically. "Yes! Mushu is one of my family guardians."

"Mmmhmmm!" Mushu smiled. "And now you know that you were borrowing a _family guardian, _Sora, it seems to me that puts you up to your eyeballs in debt to Ping here!"

Ping's eyes widened and he began to shake his head, "Mushu!"

"Shush now! These guys don't mind!" Mushu looked up confidently at Sora, "Right?"

Sora looked to Goofy, who shrugged and smiled, and to Donald who he could tell was holding back his annoyance, but managed to nod briefly. And he himself didn't mind helping out with whatever if was Mushu wanted from them!

"Sounds fair to me!" he responded.

"See now," Mushu scuttled back to Ping and raced up his leg onto his shoulder. "Ping here was just on his way to join the Imperial Army! There's a vicious Hun army on the way-nasty, smelly dudes-and the Emperor's been looking for recruits to defend China!"

Ping offered a hand to Sora. "Would you join us? It would be easier to fit in if I'm with guys, like you."

Mushu visibly tensed and Ping flinched. "What do you mean by fit it...?" Sora asked.

"You're pretendin' to be a boy, aren't ya?" Goofy asked, good-naturedly, and in the utterly gracious way that only Goofy could use to make someone feel utterly at ease.

Sora arched an eyebrow. Mushu sighed. "So, uh, you didn't notice 'till now?"

Ping smiled at the small dragon-lizard on her shoulder. "I think it's working!"

Mushu paced to her other shoulder. "Yeah, girl, until you go and say something like "guys like you"!"

Ping chuckled and extended her hand again. "My real name is Mulan. I am pretending to be a man so that I may join the Emperor's army and honor my father and my family."

Sora returned the gesture, noticing now the slightness of her face and body that distinguished her as feminine. "It's great to meet you! I'm Sora, that's Donald and this is Goofy. We're trying to find some lost friends of ours."

"It is truly an honor to meet you all!" Mulan smiled. "Thank you for offering to help me."

"Awshucks, we're happy to do it!" Goofy replied.

"So you said you were off to join the army...?" Sora asked.

"Well, as a matter of fact..." Mushu ahem-ed. "We might have a little problem with that. You see..." he looked over Donald and Goofy. "I can make myself scarce easy-as-pie, none of these down-to-earth humans ever see me...but Donald and Goofy here..."

"What are you trying to say, Mushu?" Sora asked cautiously.  
>Donald squawked. "He's saying that Goofy and I will be out of place, huh? That we'll get in the way? Is that it?"<p>

"Mushu, I-" Mulan began.

"Look, if one of those by-the-books at the camp get one look at these two, they'll lose their heads!" Mushu said exasperatedly, "They would barely be able to handle it if a real-life dragon jumped out of their myths and socked 'em in the face, but a walking, talking duck and dog? Instead of joining the army, we'd be shipped off to the Emperor to dance in a circus!"

"So what're we supposed to do, leave them behind?" Sora asked, feeling his emotions rise. "I didn't freak out when I met Donald and Goofy! They'll understand!"

"We shouldn't have to hide...this is what we get for offering our help..." Donald muttered.

Mushu shrugged, repeating how difficult it would be to hide the two of them while Mulan looked at the ground awkwardly. Sora couldn't believe that they'd offered their help, only to have both Donald and Goofy rejected just because of how they looked! This was totally unfair!

Donald opened his mouth to say something else, but Goofy put his large hand on the duck's shoulder. "The way I see it, fellas, Mushu here has got a point."  
>"What?! Goofy, are you kidding me!?" Donald jerked back.<p>

"See, some places we go, they're like us. Some places' kind of normal is just like us. Other places, like Sora's home, have a different kind of normal that ain't like us. Sometimes we can fit in without folks wonderin' too much, other times, we might just be hurtin' more than we're helpin' just by showing up! We might be muddlin' the whole place up—we gotta keep in mind what the King would want!"

"But, Goofy, I-" Sora began. He desperately didn't want to go on without his friends; he couldn't even remember the last time they had been truly separated.

"It's alright, Sora! I don't mind at'all!" Goofy grinned. "You told Mushu and Mulan that you'd help 'em, and you gotta keep to that promise!"

Donald sighed and mumbled, acquiescing to Goofy's wisdom. "Well, if this is the only way we can search this place for the King and Riku..."

"That's the spirit!" Mushu cheered.

Mulan looked up, obviously pained. "I'm...really sorry. You don't need to help. I don't want to split you and your friends up."

Sora looked to Mulan and back to Goofy's encouraging smile. He couldn't fathom leaving them behind. All their previous adventures, every one, was done with these two dear friends by his side. The feelings from back at Hollow Bastion when they had been separated began to surface, the loneliness and the sadness. "I...guys, I don't know if..."

"Go on, Sora! You'll be great! You told these two you'd help 'em out!" Goofy, beaming, reached out a hand and placed it on Sora's shoulder."Y'know we'll still be with you, right?"

A smile flashed across Sora's face. "Right. I'll visit you guys, okay? Stay at the Gummi Ship, got it?"

"'Course we will! C'mon, Donald!" Goofy grabbed Donald by the arm and directed him back towards where the Gummi Ship was parked. Sora watched them disappear into the bamboo. He did really want to help Mulan, but he could feel himself missing Donald and Goofy already.

"Sora, you really don't have to-" Mulan touched him on the shoulder.

Sora turned and smiled, "It's okay! I told you two that I'd help you out and a promise is a promise!" he paused. "I'll miss my friends for a little while, but helping you out will last longer than that feeling—so, to me, it's worth it!"

A look of surprise crossed Mulan's face before it collapsed into a smile of gratitude. She bowed deeply. "I am humbled, Sora, by your sacrifice."

Sora pulled her up by shoulders and grinned, pushing away the doubt at the edges of his mind. "Don't worry about that, Mulan! Just promise me you'll tell me the truth from now on, alright?"

* * *

><p>"Was it really completely necessary to follow me here, Number II?" Number X asked, standing aside as Number II used his sniper rifle to pick off the occasional remaining Hun who vainly attempted to fight off the Heartless in the valley below. "In any case, each one of those barbarians that you assassinate could very well have become an invaluable Heartless in the service of our objective."<p>

Number II released another volley. "As if having a couple less Heartless is really gonna hurt anyone! Chill out, Luxy, it's just good target practice." Another volley. "Damn! The damn Heartless down there makes it impossible to pick anybody out!"

"The misery I feel for your travail is endless in its depth." Number X intoned.

Number II finally holstered his weapons. "Yeah, yeah...so we're leaving the head honcho alive, right? I don't want to waste our time leading all these Heartless to the Keyblade kid when he could do it for us."

"Indeed, that was the proposition."

"Awesome!" Number II glanced down at the one remaining Hun—a hulk of a man, swiping at Heartless with his enormous, rugged blade. "You think he'll be able to lead 'em?"

"I'm convinced he will eventually. Temporarily, at least."

Number II created a portal of darkness. "Good enough for me!"

* * *

><p>As they approached the camp, Sora scratched at the cloak that Mulan had hastily handed him to drape over himself. Donald's magic typically was able to fudge how his "foreign" clothes looked to the native inhabitants of the worlds that they visited, enough that it didn't draw attention, but any additional items certainly did help complete the look. The military camp that Mulan was headed to was within running distance at this point, nestled in an open plain against majestic white mountains. He, Mulan and Mushu had been chatting pleasantly up until now, but as the camp became closer and closer, Sora noticed Mulan's walk become more and more rigid, and her back become more and more straightened while her chest puffed out and her arms squared up beside her.<p>

Just as they entered the earshot of the guards, Sora whispered "Hey, you alright?"

Mulan nodded confidently before turning to the two guards, tall men with spears, and acknowledging them with a nod. "Afternoon, boys," her voice as deep as she could make it, "My friend and I here are reporting for duty in the Emperor's Army!"

"Hey there!" Sora waved.

One guard rolled his eyes and looked away in boredom. The second raised an eyebrow and spoke down his nose. "Is that so?"

"Absolutely!" Mulan walked closer to the second guard, puffing up in front of him. Sora was impressed she didn't trip over her own odd walk. "We're here to fight for China's honor and, uh, kill some Huns! I'm looking forward to a good battle!"

The guard's raised brow rose even further. "Won't Captain Li be excited to hear that. You may report to him in the center tent of the encampment."

"Hey there, thanks!" Mulan bellowed, and slapped the guard on the back as she did what Sora could only describe as hobble, past the entryway. Sora chuckled nervously and followed her in.

"Mulan!" he whispered. "What was that about?"

Mulan glanced around nervously. "What? I was just playing the part! Was it bad?"

"I, ah, just think you should just be more yourself!" Sora straightened her arms out, "Maybe just stick with the voice?"

Mulan thought for a moment. "It was pretty uncomfortable, you know."

Sora nodded and chuckled, "It looked like it."

The camp itself was made up by tents laid out in very strict order, and surrounded by wooden barricades and towers on all sides. Soldiers, covered in every type and color of armor imaginable, wandered the rows between the tents, chatting or eating. None seemed too concerned with the the war they were, apparently, training for.

"So, Mulan, what exactly was it you wanted my help for, anyway?" Sora asked as they approached the tent.

"Well..." Mulan glanced away, but before she could respond she was interrupted by a few choice words, screamed out by someone across the camp. Another scream broke out in another direction, and a few men started yelling frantically. Out of habit, Sora materialized the Oathkeeper Keyblade and readied himself. Following his lead, Mulan grasped for the sword hanging from her waist and hefted it awkwardly. A tall and dignified man wearing red armor emerged from out of the tent down the row and began to bark orders. He paused suddenly, mid-speech, and without warning heaved his sword from its scabbard and cleaved in half a dark form that had leapt at him from the shadows. Sora knew then what he had only previously suspected: the Heartless were here.

"Alright, Mulan," Sora spoke quickly. "This might get a little crazy. If you see something that looks like moving darkness or anything with beady yellow eyes—fight it off. Don't let these things touch you."

"O-oh, okay!" Mulan lifted her sword high, nervously glancing in every direction.

"Demons! Demons!" A soldier yelled out as he stumbled toward Sora and Mulan, pursued by four Heartless that ran like humanoids, but were much shorter—appearing almost crippled—and had two thick, long antennae sprouting from each side of their head. Their voracious yellow eyes were trained on the helpless soldier in front of them. Sora nodded an encouragement to Mulan before running forward, diving over the soldier and rolling into a guarded position, sweeping out the legs of one of the Heartless as he came up to his feet. The three remaining Heartless paused and angled their eyes toward Sora, heads and arms twitching in hunger. Sora quickly dispatched one to his right with a spinning slash, and raised the Keyblade to block the incoming slashes from the long, spindly claws of the second Heartless. Its unnaturally long fingers scratched and screeched against the Oathkeeper as Sora pushed back against the dark force.

Twisting the Keyblade slightly and pushing down on the blade, Sora slashed through the fingers of the creature and following it up with a downward stab into it's chest, vaporizing it. The final of the three weaved from a distance at Sora, who watched cautiously. Suddenly, Sora heard a great yell come from behind him and he watched in surprise as Mulan charged into view, sword raised, and sliced straight through the Heartless, stumbled through it's dissipating body, and fell onto her back a few feet away.

Sora moved quickly towards her, eyes and ears fully aware of the carnage and sounds of battle happening all around him. Sensing something behind him, Sora turned just in time to throw up a block against an enormous spear swung his way, as if aimed to bludgeon him. Holding its hilt was a large centaur-Heartless, with thick legs of a horse body, and an upper half like that of a knight; a dark head covered with a silver helmet. Sora pushed back against it, but the sheer strength that this Heartless put forth was immense, and he was tossed back, past Mulan, and tumbled against the ground. Looking up, he saw Mulan pulled herself to her feet and move forward towards the centaur Heartless. The monster jabbed it's long, twisted spear towards Mulan, but she jumped out of the way just in time. The Heartless, however, simply twisted its spear and stroke Mulan with the hilt end instead, knocking her into one of the the nearby tents. Sora dashed forward, dispatching several small Heartless. Checking to ensure the rest of the camp was too busy to pay attention, he whispered "Fira!". Beneath the centaur, an explosion of fire emerged from the ground, flipping the large beast over and onto its side. As it struggled to stand again, Sora rushed to Mulan.

"Hey girl, c'mon! Get up! You've got some butt to kick!" Mushu poked out from Mulan's armor and rapped on her head. Sora reached down and grabbed her arm, concerned. "You okay, Mulan?"

Mulan groaned and reached for her sword, "I...this is it."

"Huh? What're you talking about?" Sora asked, confused.

"My... fight...that's what I need...your help for..." Mulan replied.

"We'll worry about that later! We've-" Noticing Mushu looking up fearfully behind him, Sora quickly shoved Mulan over and rolled with her, while a giant black spear plunged into the ground where they had been seconds ago. Sora quickly swung the Keyblade, stabbing it into the thigh of the Heartless, causing it to stumble in their direction. As it stumbled, Sora swung up towards at it's body, slicing it down the middle. Before the centaur touched the ground, it had dispelled into mist.

Pulling Mulan, still gasping, out of the wreckage of the tent, Sora noticed that the sounds of battle had quieted. The man in the red armor was trudging down the row of tents, inspecting the damages and speaking to the troops. As always with the Heartless, Sora felt a piece of his heart break: there were no bodies and it would likely be a long while before anyone was sure who exactly was no longer with them.

The tall man paused as he passed Sora and Mulan, turning stiffly, professionally, to look down at the two. "You." he spoke to Sora, "What is your name?"

Sora, hefted the Keyblade over his shoulder, knowing he couldn't dismiss it without suspicion now, and replied, "I'm Sora."

The man paused thoughtfully. "Sora. Sora, your battle skills are encouraging and you are welcome in my troops. I am Captain Li Shang."

Hearing his name and title, Mulan stiffened up and stepped forward. "Sir, I am Ping, son of Fa Zhou-"

"You should return home, son of Fa Zhou." Captain Li interrupted.

"I..I..but..." Mulan fumbled, thrown off by the sudden intrusion. "My family would be dishonored!"

"This cowardly attack has proven that the Huns have added sorcery to their arsenal of tricks." Captain Li replied. "Observing your battle tactics, you are ill-equipped to deal with anything of the like. Would you rather dishonor my troops? In any case, you are far too late to take part in any form of basic training."

From inside Mulan's armor, Sora could hear Mushu seething. Apparently, the Captain could hear something as well, as he looked to be about to question Mulan when Sora spoke up. "If Ping trains hard enough and does his best, he'll be strong enough to fight soon!"

Captain Li paused at Sora's recommendation. "If this son of Fa Zhou can prove himself, perhaps he may find a place in the Imperial Army." he turned his gaze directly on Sora. "May it be noted, though, that failure on his part will now reflect on you. I hope you are prepared for that, soldier."

Sora swallowed nervously at the Captain's intense gaze emerging from under thin black eyebrows, but he nodded in affirmation. Captain Li returned a firm, curt acknowledgment and proceeded down the rows of tents.

As he passed, Mulan shoulders slumped."I can't believe I was almost rejected..."

Sora looked over at his new friend. "Hey, it'll be okay! You'll be a great soldier in no time!"

Mulan reached down and began to clean up the damaged tent she had crashed into, groaning through gritted teeth from the mild pain of bruises. "I hope you're right, Sora...I cannot return to my family dishonored."

* * *

><p>As it had still been relatively early morning when the Heartless attacked, the rest of the afternoon and evening at the camp was spent in intense clean-up, followed by a brief funeral for the lost and a short speech by Captain Li about the need for increased dedication to the defense of their country. After this, until the sun set and even later, the entire camp spent their time training. Sword drills, archery practice, and general fitness exercises drove the pain stemming the morning's losses from the minds of the soldiers, with any remnant of memory serving only to increase their resolve in training.<p>

Well after night fall, Sora found himself sitting around a camp fire with Mulan and several of the other soldiers, himself completely drained by the intense exercises of the day. The group was drinking some kind of soup, and chatting amongst themselves about everything from their girls back home to their supposedly "unbelievable" combat abilities. Finally, the topic at hand fell on to the Huns.

"Cursed Huns...why couldn't they have continued east instead of coming south to us?" a thin, reed-like man groaned as he leaned into his soup.

A short, stout man who barely came up to Sora's chest, cursed the Huns with a string of violent words, "They're just dirty barbarians, like animals. They don't plan, they just take and take..."

Sora spoke up, warming his hands against the fire. "Who're these Huns anyway? What do you they want?"

The group fell quiet, the fire cracking in the background. Finally the short man spoke, "_Tyen shiao duh! _

Is that a joke?"  
>"Ah...no?" Sora glanced around the circle of soldiers, each of whom appeared shocked. Mulan grimaced and shrugged apologetically to him.<p>

"_Wàiguó rén..."_ the thin man mumbled.

A large man, easily three times Sora's size, finally replied softly from across the fire. "The Huns are barbarians from the far north. They have no home, no cities, they simply ravage the lands around them and take whatever they want." he took a sip from his bowl. "They have prowled northern China for years, threatening our borders. It was only when the Emperors built the Great Wall to defend our land that the Hun chief, Shan-Yu, became more bold."

"And now it seems like he is a sorcerer, as well!" the short man pounded on his knee, "Those creatures of darkness were not of this world."

"I can explain those things." The entire campfire fell silent, and Sora began to measure his words. "I've...seen them before. They're called Heartless. They gather around people who have darkness in their hearts—I guess like this Shan-Yu guy-" Sora gestured at the large man who had mentioned the Hun, "But sometimes the Heartless just work on their own, trying to find hearts that they can steal to make more of themselves."

A few whispers around the campfire was the only response, before the short man spoke up again, "Where do they come from and how do we beat them?"

"Well, ah..." Sora scratched the back of his neck, anxiously trying to figure out how much he should tell these people, and how much he himself actually knew. "You just have to fight them off wherever and whenever you find them...but I guess I don't really know where they come from."

The tall man circled his wooden spoon in his bowl. "I'll believe anything after today."

"_Gāisǐ _hun sorcery..." the short man mumbled.

Warming himself once more by the fire, Sora gathered a blanket that he had been given and set out a spot for himself to sleep in a few yards away. There were no tents left over to be used, and so Sora had been ordered to sleep under the open stars. Since calling on and dismissing the Keyblade would cause too much suspicion in a camp where he was trying to blend in for Mulan's sake, Sora was still holding the Oathkeeper in one hand when he finally found a somewhat rock-less place to lay down. After plunging the Keyblade into the ground, Sora wrapped himself in the blanket and faced away from the fire. He could hear several of the other soldiers heading off into the night, and now, away from the fire, Sora could clearly see the endlessness of the night sky, with darkness covering everything except for each small pinprick of light; each individual world. Sora knew that, to everyone else around him, each of those lights was just another star or a mysterious "night-light", just as they had been to him once.

Now, though, he had _visited_ some of those stars, and yet, he was even more amazed at the amount he had never seen. He thought he was well-traveled, but to see all of those stars—covering the entire panorama (Sora smirked slightly at having used one of Kairi's large words) of the night sky-there were just so many worlds! Sora felt a twinge of loneliness as he remembered the two friends he had visited all those worlds with, and how they were not with him now. It was still an odd feeling—to sleep without having Donald and Goofy close by, to have experienced a whole day's worth of a new world without them to talk about it with, even fighting the Heartless earlier, he knew he hadn't been at his best because the familiar backup of his two friends was not there to complement his own style. Sora looked back up at the stars, desiring the adventures of the past where Donald and Goofy were constantly by his side.

As he lay there, admiring the night view and hoping sleep would come to him soon, Sora noticed a figure cloaked by the darkness move slowly through the camp. The figure moved silently through the tents, headed for the edge of the camp that bordered the forest at the edge of the mountains. Against his lazy judgment, which told him to just enjoy sleep, Sora's curiosity pulled him up to his feet. He slid the Keyblade silently from where he had left it, and began to track the mysterious character into the woods. The forest was not deep, from what Sora could tell, and so the figure began to slow down relatively quickly. Sora kept a bit of distance, crouching behind trees, feeling the thrill of being a real, or at least imaginary, spy. The person finally reached an open clearing and stepped out into it, drawing a sword from its scabbard. Without the shroud of the trees, the moonlight clearly lit up the entire open space, and Sora saw the person he had been tracking.

"Mulan?!" Sora asked aloud, standing up and stepping forward.

Mulan jumped and swung her sword around toward the voice. "Who's there?"

"It's me! Sora!" Sora stepped into the clearing. "What're you doing out here?"

"I...uhh..." Mulan stuttered.

"Hey girl!" Mushu slithered out from within the trees. "Look, I found a good-sized trunk you can train on, but there ain't no way I'm gettin' it over him all-by-my-lonesome-" Mushu paused when he saw Sora. "Hey now! You gotta warn me when you invite company, Mulan!

"You're training, Mulan?" Sora asked, "But that's all we've done today!"

Mulan sighed, moonlight glinting off of her eyes. "I know Sora, but...I'm still not good enough! Captain Li won't let me stay in the army much longer! I don't have time to waste sleeping—I need to keep improving."

Sora thought for a moment. "I see...well, I guess I can't let you do it alone!" he smiled as he set himself in an offensive pose, Keyblade raised.

A smile washed over Mulan's face, as she hefted her on blade. "Thank you, Sora. You are truly a good friend."

Sora smirked. "You might not think that when we're done here!"

Mulan faltered for a moment before firming with a returned grin, and readying her blade. Sora immediately moved forward and took a few cautionary swings, which Mulan blocked, albeit only just fast enough. Sora continued to press forward, forcing Mulan back toward the treeline. Mulan feebly attempted to swing back at Sora, but Sora deftly knocked each attack back with a flick of his wrist. Mulan swung her sword back and stabbed forward, Sora quickly sidestepped and swung down heavily, knocking her blade into the ground. Mulan's eyes widened, and she lifted her foot to step back, only to find herself back-to-bark against a tree. Sora pointed the Keyblade at her, smiling.

"C'mon, Mulan! I know you've got more in you!" he encouraged.

Mulan's eyes shifted as she thought of her options. Suddenly, a smile crossed her face and she quickly swung straight up. Much to Sora's surprise, her upward slash severed a large tree branch that swung down towards Sora, who only rolled out of the way just in time. Sora came back to his feet to the sound of Mushu cheering, and image of Mulan swinging her sword back into a readied position, her face beaming with pride. Sora could only marvel; she may need more work on her outright battle abilities, but she had a knack for knowing what was going on around her!

"So, Sora," Mulan beamed, "I just realized you never told me where you were from!"

Sora pulled himself to his feet and readied himself again, beginning to slowly circle Mulan. "Well, I'm from far away—I live on a group of Islands." he moved forward and took a quick swipe at Mulan before backing off in order to avoid her counter.

Mulan marveled. "That _is_ quite a ways away! What brought you this far?"

"The islands were attacked one day by those Heartless," Sora sighed, "and I got separated from my friends. I've been trying to find them ever since."

Mulan frowned and let her sword fall, "I'm so sorry, Sora...I had no idea I was distracting you from finding your friends!"

Sora paused. "Hey, it's alright, Mulan! I've been doing this for a long time, I don't mind taking a break to help you out! Besides..." he knocked her sword back up into position with the Keyblade, "based on my track record, I seem to find clues to where my friends are by helping out everywhere I can!"

Mulan smiled gracefully, and cut a downward strike with her sword that Sora easily blocked. "Well, I am also sorry about the friends that you left behind" she briefly glared toward Mushu, who was cackling as he picked leaves from the trees and burnt them to a crisp with sparks from his mouth. "I didn't want that to happen"

Sora nodded, before sweeping low with the Keyblade, forcing Mulan back. "I've actually been thinking about that—you have to pretend to be a man to join the imperial army, because they won't let girls in, right?"

Mulan nodded and kicked out straight with her left foot toward Sora's solar plexus, a move that the recruits had been shown that day. Sora side-stepped and swung back horizontally toward Mulan, who had landed closer than ever to him. "It seems like" he continued, "Donald and Goofy were gonna go through the same thing, you know? They weren't going to be accepted because of how they look."

Mulan's small brown eyes look at Sora curiously from across their blades.

"So I don't blame you because you because know the feeling, I guess; being rejected for something silly like that." Sora glanced away, somewhat embarrassed, "I don't know if that makes sense..."

Mulan paused and let her sword drift to the ground beside her, ticking her head to the side at this odd boy. "I think that is very noble of you, Sora."

Sora sheepishly grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well...you know...Goofy is also pretty smart, and I try to listen to him when I can!"'

A few yards away, under the glistening moonlight, Mushu yelped as one of the burning leaves sent a spark flying into his eye.

* * *

><p>Sora trudged down the rows of the makeshift camp, rubbing his arms vigorously. It had been a day or so since they had marched up the snow-capped mountains to set up a forward base in a strategically important pass, where they had settled among a small mountain village. The sun provided some brief encouragement to the freezing Sora, who was himself thoroughly unused to snow and the cold temperatures that came along with it, regardless of how in awe of it he was. The Islands had never had snow, and only rumors and stories of snow had been passed around among the populace. However, as cool of a thing as it was to him—Sora smirked at the pun that Kairi would've rolled her eyes to-Sora could honestly say he preferred the warmth of the sun and the beaches of the Islands.<p>

The view from the base, however, could not be beaten by very many. From their height on the mountain's upper ranges, Sora could see vast tracts of land spreading out below him in browns and dark greens. In the far misty distance, the form of a large square city could be made out, which he had been told was the home of the Emperor, the Imperial City.

"Mul—I mean, Ping!" Sora called out as he shook the edge of a particular tent. "We have a mission from Captain Li!"

At the mention of the captain, Mulan immediately stumbled from the tent, shook herself and stood tall. "Oh? And what kind of mission is that?" her attempted deep voice intoned as she glanced around to see who was watching.

"The guards have seen some Huns in the distance and we have been chosen to investigate!" Sora smiled, neglecting to mention that the Captain had originally wanted to send only him, and only by Sora's intervention had Mulan been allowed to come as well.

Mulan nodded excitedly and began to slowly step through the mounds of snow that seemed to only always deepen. "Well, let's go then!"

After collaborating with the guards as to which direction the Huns had been seen the most, Sora, Mulan and Mushu slogged out into the mountain's tundra, moving awkwardly through the numerous trees that somehow managed to survive in the cold of the elevation. After what was many minutes of walking, suddenly Mulan stopped in her tracks and dove behind a large tree. Sora quickly ducked over to her. "What's up, Mulan?"

Mulan pointed around the tree to a tall, distant pine. A large man, dressed in tatters of animal fur and skins, had jumped down from a height that, based on what limbs still wobbled, made Sora wonder how the man had not broken his legs. "Is that Shan-"

"Shh!" Mulan whispered, "Don't even say his name!"

Sora looked somewhat incredulous, "C'mon, we've got him here, let's go get him and bring him back to the Captain!"

Mulan looked just as incredulous back. "Capture Shan-Yu? Have you never heard the stories? Do you even have a plan, Sora?"

Sora shrugged and stood up, moving toward where Shan-Yu had disappeared behind a small grove of trees "Well, ah, normally I just go for things and see what happens..."

Mulan struggled up behind him, while Mushu energetically began to remark about how much glory Mulan would achieve for the capture of Shan-Yu. As they cautiously crossed the open snow, Sora's eyes were drawn to a rustling in the brush just below the treeline. Pointing toward the movement, Sora noticed the snow shift subtly. Mulan gulped, but nodded and moved toward the spot Sora had pointed out. Suddenly an explosion of snow threw both Sora and Mulan back in surprise. From behind it, another giant Heartless centaur appeared, charging straight toward them, followed by a host of smaller, chittering heartless with their terrible eyes and dark forms standing out starkly against the snow. Surprised as she was, Mulan yelped and turned to run towards the camp, a notion that Sora did not disagree with. With a stampede of Heartless behind them, Sora and Mulan charged back toward the rising smoke of the camp in the distance which, as they approached, became concernedly larger and larger.

Mulan gasped and nearly fell onto her face as the camp came within view-temporary walls and barricades had been broken down, buildings and tents were smoking, men were yelling, Heartless swarmed seemingly everywhere. Sora gritted his teeth and used his running momentum to leap off of a remaining wall,and twist backwards in the air long and high enough to land on the horse-like back of the centaur Heartless behind them and decapitate it with a quick slice. The beast collapsed into the snow and vanished in an instant as Sora rolled in a defensive position to fight off the remaining Heartless. Mulan, still dumbfounded, was entranced by the burning camp. Sora screamed her name as a single Heartless approached her from behind, its long limbs and crouched posture twitching and seizing with its hunger. Mulan snapped out of her shock, and swiftly turned to slash through the approaching Heartless. Looking to Sora next, the unbridled pain in her eyes broke his heart.

Quickly, they fought their way into the camp to look for survivors among the red-marked snow, stained from the bodies of those who had died from the fires or the collapse of buildings. As they approached the center of the camp, their eyes fell upon Captain Li fiercely fighting off the Heartless, clutching his side. "We need to evacuate the people!" he, upon seeing Sora and Mulan, yelled over the noise of the attack before collapsing to one knee. Immediatley, Sora swept in and deftly eliminated any close-by Heartless. "They...they came from nowhere..." the Captain breathed heavily.

"Captain, you start to evacuate the people." Sora looked into his eyes, "We'll fight off the Heartless here."

The Captain looked back, his stern eyes accepting. He attempted to stand to his feet, but could not. It was then that Sora noticed a deep wound in the Captain's left thigh. Without much thought, Sora reached down and whispered "Cura!". A green light laced around the Captain's leg, and the bleeding stopped. Sora sighed from the mental exertion, and looked up to meet the Captain's surprised eyes. "Just go!" Sora whispered, and turned to dive back into the fray which Mulan had been ably keeping at bay until now.

As the Captain sprinted away to lead evacuations, Sora couldn't help but notice a small item in the snow a few feet away. Slashing through two twitching Heartless, and knocking another flying one, resembling a dark bee, out of the sky, Sora found himself looking down at a small doll that lay crumpled in the snow, its face splattered with small flecks of blood. The fight slowed around Sora as he was reminded, for the second time since he "woke up", of the true horror and evil of the Heartless. His jaw quaked, and he felt tears begin to well up. Gripping the Keyblade tightly, Sora reached down to scoop up the little doll, but a black-gloved hand reached it first.

"Man, what a lame toy..." the distinctive "western surfer" voice of one of the Organization broke Sora from his reverie. "As if anyone would play with this stuff..."

"Put that down!" Sora demanded, brandishing the Keyblade.

"Meh, as if I cared." the dark-cloaked man responded, twisting the head of the doll from the body and tossing both to the side. "Do you like our work?"

Sora felt his blood boil, and he struck forward. The man disappeared in a haze, only for his voice to reappear behind Sora. "C'mon, you gotta be quicker than that!"

Sora turned to find a familiar purple and elegantly carved sniper-rifle pointed at him once again. Sora ducked to the side as the cloaked man fired his weapon, striking down in one shot three Heartless that had gathered behind Sora.

Ignoring this, Sora stood back up straight, "Don't you see what you've done?! How can you stand there and act like everything is normal when you've caused all of this pain!?"

"Hey, c'mon, don't judge!" the cloaked man cackled. "Besides, I know the worst is still on its way!"

Sora looked beyond the shoulders of the Organization member, through the smoke and soot that filled the air, to the sloping hill that rose in the distance behind the camp—and, from the treeline he and Mulan had only just been at, a loan figure emerged—Shan-Yu, and behind him, hundreds more Heartless. Sora barely noticed when the cloaked man waved and vanished into a portal of darkness, concerned as he was with the overwhelming force of Heartless heading their way.

"Mulan! Mulan!" he yelled, turning, "Run!"

Mulan turned to see what Sora was yelling about, and her face paled as she saw the incoming onslaught of Heartless. As Sora reached her, she began to run as well; moving along with the swarm of evacuating people. As they ran, Sora suddenly felt Mulan's lack—she had tripped several feet back and lay face first in the dirtied snow. Sora turned, sprinted back and helped her to her feet. "C'mon, Mulan, we've gotta get somewhere safer!"

Mulan wasn't looking at Sora, however, but was instead intently examining the item she had tripped over. It was a long, square tube, carved ornately to resemble a dragon. Without responding to Sora, Mulan leapt forward and grabbed the long piece, turning it upright so that the dragon's open mouth faced toward the oncoming Heartless who were still sweeping down the hill. "Mulan! What are you doing?", Sora asked as he eliminated several oncoming Heartless that attempted to interrupt.

Mulan didn't respond, but only mumbled as she fiendishly shifted through nearby snow. "Flint...flint..."

Mulan reached into her armor and grabbed Mushu and squeezed his torso, forcing fire and sparks out of his protesting mouth, and Sora, simultaneously,realizing what she was doing, immediately called upon a Fira spell, aimed toward the dragon-shaped tube. With the force of magic behind it, a long rocket emerged from the dragons mouth and spun quickly through the air toward the descending Heartless. Sora felt his heart drop when the rocket seemed to have been aimed over the head of the attackers, but Mulan smirked confidently as it flew, straight and true, toward a snow-covered ridge above and behind the distant treeline. In one short moment that seemed to slow down into several, the rocket crashed explosively into the ridge and a distant roar began to shake the ground around Sora. Slowly, the great masses of snow that had previously clung so well to ridge, shook and began to slide from their mooring. The Heartless, of course, did not have the capacity or interest to notice the oncoming avalanche, but Shan-Yu paused to look behind him only just in time to be utterly covered by the new, more deadly, onslaught that slowly enveloped he and the Heartless.

Sora clapped Mulan on the back, barely able to contain his excitement as he watched the Heartless slowly be themselves eaten up by the snow. "Mulan that was awesome!"

Mulan smiled graciously, and patted Mushu on the head. Mushu sputtered, "Yeah, yeah, but so what're we gonna do now about the GIANT DEATH AVALANCHE HEADED TOWARD US?!"

Mulan and Sora both blanched, and took off running against toward the opposite end of the village. Sora could see the Captain urging people forward at the gate, and a small mass of people moving away in the distance. Just as they reached the opposite gate, Sora heard the crash of the avalanche breaking through what was left of the village's walls. As they sped through the gate, the last of the village to leave, Mulan used her built up momentum to grab the Captain and drag him along with her as they sped away from the doomed camp.

Even for Sora, momentum and adrenaline could only take one so far in the deep mountain snow, and he found himself crashing into the white powder very soon after Mulan and the Captain had done the same. Laying still for but a moment, Sora rose to his knees and looked behind him. The energy of the avalanche had been mostly absorbed by the ruins of the village, leaving but a few small mounds to continue rolling slowly down the mountain. The Captain and Mulan came to their feet only several feet away from the Sora.

"Thank you, Ping" the Captain gasped, leaning on Mulan's shoulder.

Mulan coughed and straightened up. "It was my pleasure, sir."

Captain Li shook his head and stood fully on his own, the remainder of his army and the village people gathering behind him. "I should have never doubted you—from now on, you have my trust!"

Mulan began to speak, "Thank you, Cap-" but she suddenly groaned, and her eyes rolled back in her head as she collapsed into the snow, its whiteness slowly becoming stained from the blood of a wound that had made its way under her breastplate, likely due to flying debris. With a quick motion, the Captain called several people forward from the crowd, who rapidly ushered Mulan away to a few small makeshift tents that had been rescued from the camp and swiftly set up by the survivors.

As Sora moved to follow her, Captain Li held up his hand to stop. "Your healing sorcery, mysterious one, could be much better set to use in inspect the village for survivors with me."

Sora paused and finally nodded, seeing the Captain's point, but not quite ready to abandon Mulan, if only because of her secret."But, sir-"

"Captain Li!" a young man emerged from one of the makeshifts tents and rushed to the Captain, "Sir, Ping is not as he seems!"

Captain Li's eyes narrowed and Sora's heart dropped.

"Explain yourself, soldier."

"Sir, Ping is a woman!"

Captain Li's stepped back slightly, shocked. "Will he—she survive?"

"The wound appears superficial, sir." was the reply.

The Captain turned toward Sora, eyes beginning to blaze. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

Sora said nothing for a moment, before retuning the blazing stare, "I don't see why it's such a big deal-"

"I cannot have soldiers whom I cannot trust, who would deceive me so and bring such dishonor to my army!" Captain Li turned away, walking toward the destroyed village, and spoke over his shoulder to Sora, "The punishment for a betrayal and dishonor such as this could very well be death. But, in light of all the relevant factors, I simply want you and...Ping...out of my sight as soon as she is well and our rescue operations are complete. Are we clear?"

Sora glared, but nodded. Personally, he thought Mulan would be better off without this whole army business anyway, and followed the Captain toward the village to look for survivors.

* * *

><p>Sora prodded at the small fire that he and Mulan had put together in a cleared out corner of the destroyed village. Several survivors had been found and tended to, but as soon as they were well enough to move, the Captain had ordered the army and the refugees of the village down the mountain toward the Imperial City, so that the news of the Huns' defeat could be spread. His one last communication, sent through a messenger, had been a polite request that Sora and Mulan wait behind until the evening, so that they each may travel separately. Sora had been prepared to follow the Captain at a distance in protest, but Mulan had politely and calmly held him back from doing so.<p>

"How do you feel, Mulan?" Sora asked across the fire.

Mulan brushed some of her dark hair from her eyes, now no longer tied up behind her head, and prodded at her ribcage. "Certainly the army's medicine worked well enough, but whatever it was that you did, Sora, makes me feel as though nothing happened!"

Sora smiled, even though he still felt the mental fatigue of having used cure on so many in such a short period of time. "That's good to hear!"

"I'll tell y'all how I feel..." Mushu suddenly spoke up, as he looked mournfully into the fire, "I ain't feeling so hot-our ship has sailed and now I gotta go back and explain to your ancestors how I let you get all dishonored..."

Mulan leaned back and smiled, almost releasing a giggle. "Actually, Mushu, I think I brought as much honor to my family as I could expect to! I suppose it's just time to go home." her gaze fell to Sora across from her, "Sora, I'm sorry again for getting you in trouble and taking you along with me in all this."

Sora poked at the fire more and smiled back, "It's no big deal. So you're just going to head home now?"

"You know your daddy's gonna be more steamed than chicken dumpling..." Mushu mumbled, curling up against the fire.

Mulan looked about to speak, when a bone-chilling bellow exploded across the tundra. From over Mulan's shoulder, Sora notice small mounds of snow rolling down the central thoroughfare of the village; between the ruined houses. Acting quickly, Sora called forth an ice spell that put out the small fire, just in time to observe the hulking form of Shan-Yu stumbling his way down the road and out of the village, his eyes and movement single-mindedly focused ahead. Sora's eyes widened, Mulan gasped, and Mushu almost fainted in terror. Darkness seemed to drip from the Huns' form, creating puddles in his footsteps from which the Heartless took form. Slowly, they followed him down the mountain as well.

Sora leapt to his feet. "We can take him! C'mon!"

Mushu trembled, "Did you—did you not see the mad Hun burst from the snow?! Like a daisy?!"

"We need to get to the Imperial City before he does and warn the Captain!" Mulan declared, gathering up her equipment.

"Girl, how're we gonna do that? The dude who can rise from the dead has already has taken the only road!" Mushu crawled up to her shoulder.

Sora watched as a few small bits of snow continued to roll down the hill after Shan-Yu. Somehow, the way the snow rolled reminded him of something back on the islands...suddenly, it clicked—it was what the Organization member had reminded him of: the western surfers! Now he knew he had an idea brewing.

"Come with me!" Sora whispered intensely and ran for the entrance of the village. Mulan, with Mushu riding on her shoulder, followed behind, confused. When he reached an open spot, Sora readied the Keyblade against the ground.

"So, I've never tried doing this before...but it can't be much different than the surfers back home..." Sora said, almost to himself.

"Sora...what are you doing?" Mulan asked.

"Looks to me like he's lost it." Mushu responded.

"Get close!" Sora whispered urgently, noticing Shan-Yu's dark form still visible in the distance. Mulan moved close to him, and Sora closed his eyes and took a breath. With a first downward movement, Sora called out "Reflect!" and a honeycombed, half-circle appeared underneath him, but upside down so that he and Mulan were standing in the bowl of the shield. Without pausing, Sora flipped the Keyblade behind him, hooked it against the edge of the shield and called out "Fire!". A burst of flames emerged from the tip of the Keyblade, which then pushed itself back against the shield, causing momentum that tipped the shield down the incline.

"Sora-" Mulan's eyes widened in the few seconds before the speed picked up, "Are we-?"

"Hold on tight!" Sora pulled Mulan tightly against him and held onto the reflect shield with all his might as it dipped and began to slide down the mountain. Mushu's voice was but a long scream as their speed increased, and they passed the shocked face of Shan-Yu in seconds.

Sora yelled in excitement, but his voice caught in his throat as the shield caught the first cliff and glided out into the open air. Mushu's screams became louder, Mulan was just a blank face of shock and Sora began to feel woozy. The shild slammed against ground seconds later, still picking up speed, and Sora pretended his best not to notice the small crack that had been made in the bottom of the shield.. In the far distance, another roar from Shan-Yu could faintly be heard, but Sora gave it little thought, as the shield had clipped a rock that sent it into a spin as well as a dive, a combination which continued all the way down to the foot of the mountain and then some.

* * *

><p>Mushu had spoken little, if at all, since the reflect shield had finally cracked around them and unceremoniously deposited the three in a clearing by a well-traveled dirt road. Even when the Imperial City, in throws of celebration, had come into view in the twilight of the not-yet-risen morning sun, Mushu had barely reacted. He still clung tightly, obsessively, to Mulan's neck and any attempts to pull him off had been useless.<p>

As they entered the grand city a parade was in full swing. Spectator's lined the edges of crowded streets, confetti and small fireworks filled the air, and huge dragon costumes writhed and danced down the roads. Great music of strings and drums filled the air, paper lanterns lit up the street in preparation for the sun's rising, and people danced wildly in what was a clear celebration of the defeat of Shan-Yu the Hun. In the whole city, tightly built with houses stacked neatly upon each other and wound by thin streets, it was likely that Mulan, Sora and Mushu were the only ones with no reason to celebrate.

"Quick, we need to find the head of the parade! That's where Captain Li will be!" Mulan shoved Mushu into her cloak, and ushered Sora forward, pushing aggressively through the crowded streets.

After passing what seemed like miles of dragons and dancers and acrobats, Sora finally spotted the Captain proudly riding a regal white house at the head of line.

"Captain!" Mulan yelled out, diving to grapple the bridle of his horse, "Captain! Shan-Yu is alive! He's headed this way!"

The look of shock on the Captain's face passed quickly into resentment, "And what reason have you given me to believe you?"

Sora pushed in front of his horse, brandishing the Keyblade over his shoulder. "She's telling the truth."

The Captain shook his head and ushered his horse forward, but Mulan suddenly grabbed him by the arm and pulled him close. "My name is Mulan, and trusting her will be no different than trusting Ping! Why else would I come back?"

The Captain shook his arm away from hers and looked ready to respond, when a sudden scream broke out among the masses. Sora could feel his heart drop, for in all of his experience, only one thing followed a scream like that-

And just like that, Heartless dropped from the roofs of all the building. The soldiers in the procession, with fear in their eyes, reacted quickly and began to defend the citizens of the Imperial City. The Captain, sudden understanding dawning, yelled out above the din and beckoned his horse forward. "Quickly! Make it to the courtyard! Get out of the streets!"

Sora dispatched several Heartless as he followed the outflow of the street into a tremendous, open courtyard that lay before the grand palace of the Emperor. The palace itself was raised a long way above the courtyard, connected by dozens of long, stone steps. Tall pillars supported the glittering roof that curved by dipping low off of the pillars and then sharply upwards into a single, long meeting point that stretched the entirety of the building. Tall towers, similarly decorated, lay around the Palace in a square pattern, still letting off firework, yet unaware of the tumultuous tragedy below.

In the courtyard, hundreds of Heartless ferociously fought with regally decorated Palace Guards. In seconds, Sora and Mulan had joined the fight, attempting to focus their energy upon the centaur Heartless that they had previous experience with. Captain Li's swung his large sword at Heartless from his horse, both decapitating and trampling. Out of the corner of his eye, Sora noticed three small Heartless, beady eyes twitching with hunger, pull a man down by his arms and deftly removed his heart. The screams were awful; Sora could barely imagine the terror that was was being felt around him by those who had no idea what kind of monstrosity they were fighting against.

Suddenly, Mulan's hand was on his shoulder. "We have to get the Emperor! I just saw Shan-Yu climbing across the ramparts of the palace!"

Sora nodded. Clearly Shan-Yu was the center of this Heartless attack—they had to stop him if they had any hope of defeating the Heartless. It was just then that Captain Li rode by on his horse, and pulled Mulan and Sora up on it in two swift motions.

"Captain, the Emperor-" Mulan began.

Captain Li interrupted, "I saw the same thing. I'm going to need the assistance of you both-Hiyah!" he yelled, as he kicked his horse into crashing through the swarms of Heartless and up the stairs to the palace. At the top, two enormous golden doors lay open, and in the center already stood Shan-Yu, his rugged and twisted blade against the throat of a regal old man wearing shimmering gold, who's gray beard nearly reached his knees.

"My lord!" Captain Li gasped.

A yellowed and crooked smile stretched across Shan-Yu's sloped face. "I tire of your arrogance, old man, now, before all your people—you will bow to me."  
>The man, who to Sora was clearly the Emperor, responded calmly, eyes firmed straight ahead. "No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it."<p>

Sora saw rage convulse through Shan-Yu's enormous, trunk-like limbs as he raised his arm for the decapitating strike. He began to move forward, but even faster than he, Captain Li dove forward and blocked the strike with his long sword. Without hesitating for an instant, he pushed back against the Hun, knocking his sword to his side, and followed with an armored elbow to Shan-Yu's large and rounded chin. Shan-Yu stumbled back, and Li grabbed the Emperor and dragged him within the enormous doors. As he pulled them shut, he paused to look at Sora and Mulan, who both responded with an affirming nod. As the doors slammed shut, Shan-Yu let out a bellowing, rage-filled scream. He stood to his two enormous feet, and towered above Sora and Mulan, even at a distance.

Wasting no words, he immediately charged forward, bringing his enormous sword to crash upon Sora, who blocked it with the Keyblade. The force of the blow was immense, however, and forced Sora to stumble back toward the stairs. Mulan ran forward, striking several quick blows at the Hun who either blocked them or shrugged them off with another great bellow. As Sora stood to his feet, he noticed all the carnage going on below him, soldiers and Heartless still fighting their great battle. Feeling his anger boil, Sora twisted and whipped the Keyblade through the air at Shan-Yu, who was distracted by overpowering Mulan. He turned just in time to have the blade bluntly smash against his skull and send him stumbling back, clutching his head. Sora called the Keyblade back to his hand and moved toward the Hun, who glanced back at Sora through the blood now dripping around his eyes. Taking a step back, Shan-Yu stabbed his great sword into one of the pillars upholding the palace and began to climb up it, toward the open roof. Sora had grabbed onto the the holes that Shan-Yu had made in the pillar and had begun to climb up after him, when Mulan yelled up to him, "Keep him distracted, I have an idea!"

Sora nodded and watched her run off down the side of the palace. Continuing his climb, Sora watched as Shan-Yu breached the roof and slid out of sight. As Sora got close, a large boot appeared over the edge of the roof and kicked at his handhold. Losing one of his grips, Sora swung to the side and caught the edge of roof with a leg and rolled himself up onto it. Immediately, Shan-Yu's powerful sword blow came down upon him, forcing Sora to roll out of the way again. Underneath the force of the missed strike, the roof where Sora had just been cracked. Shan-Yu looked up at Sora, grinning, and Sora took a few steps back, somewhat shocked my this man's inhuman strength.

"They say-" Shan-Yu spoke in a low, rumbling voice that was yet still smooth somehow, "That though you may know a man for forty years..." he stepped forward and slashed again, cutting another deep gash into the roof and sending shards of wood toward Sora, who scuttled up higher onto the slope, towards where the two sides of the roof met in a single beam that stretched the palace's length.

"...when you hold him over a volcano..." Shan-Yu continued, taking two large leaps forward and snatching Sora by the coat. Shan-Yu then tossed Sora up onto the middle beam of the roof. "...you will meet the true man."

Another two steps forward, and Shan-Yu stood over Sora, blade ready. Sora raised the Keyblade, ready to strike back.

"So what kind of man are you?" Shan-Yu nearly whispered.

Sora glanced to the side at a wayward noise and smiled. "I think I should ask you the same question!"

Shan-Yu glanced to the side as well, only just in time to observe the huge oncoming firework aimed directly at his torso. He barely reacted when the rocket crashed into his large body, picked him up and carried him across the roof and into one of the neighboring towers, recently abandoned of its people, but not of its fireworks. Sora followed Mulan's suite, who had blocked her ears and turned away after launching the large firework from the opposite tower. In seconds, the tower to which Shan-Yu had been carried exploded in a cacophony of fireworks, spitting off in every direction imaginable. The loud explosions shook the castle, lit up the sky just minutes ahead of the sun, and sent Sora tumbling down the roof, only just catching himself before falling off of the side. For a solid several minutes, the fireworks continued their art until all that was left was a burning tower that now resembled more a well-used torch than a building of defense.

* * *

><p>Hours later, the fire had been put out, the Heartless had vanished, and the city had begun to recover. Most of the citizens not involved in the efforts had gathered to camp out in the enormous courtyard of the palace, and Sora could not believe the incredible amount of people that could fit in that one space; it seemed like a small city all unto itself. Sora himself stood beside Mulan, at the top of the stairs before the palace, facing the tall and thin form of the Emperor, with Captain Li to his right and a hunched over attendant to his left, whispering into his ear. The Emperor nodded and stepped forward as the aide withdrew himself. Mulan bowed at the middle, and Sora followed suite, albeit not quite as low as she. As they stood back straight, the Emperor began to speak in a loud and strong tone, in such a way that it seemed to Sora that the entire crowd could hear what he was saying.<p>

"I have heard a great deal about you, Fa Mulan." he stroked his beard. "You stole your father's armor, ran away from home, impersonated a solider, deceived your commanding officer, dishonored the Chinese army, destroyed my palace-" he gestured at the damage that lay all around them, and Sora couldn't help but roll his eyes a little at most of the charges.

"-and, in the end," the Emperor's eyes fell directly upon Mulan's, "you have saved us all." and with a smooth movement, the Emperor leaned forward in a bow even deeper than Mulan's had been. A great noise came up from the crowd below, and Sora turned to find all who had been watching following their emperor's suite. Mulan herself stood speechless, her mouth emptily grasping at words that never came. Sora's smile stretched across his face in all directions, as he turned, too, and bowed to Mulan, deeper than he had before, too.

After several moments, the Emperor stood straight again, and the people followed. "I wish to offer you a high-ranking position in the Army, Fa Mulan. Will you accept?"

"I...I..." Mulan stuttered, "I..with all due respect, my lord, I believe I have been gone from home long enough. My...my father likely misses me terribly."

A thin smile broke through the Emperor's beard. "You honor your family, Fa Mulan. In that case, I wish to give you this metal-" he gestured his aide forward, who presented Mulan with a large, golden metal decorated with a dragon, before retreating back to the Emperor's side. "-so that your family may know what you have done."

"Thank you, my lord-" Mulan began.

"-And, I wish to give you this," he interrupted and gestured Captain Li forward, who produced the hard and twisted sword of Shan-Yu and gently presented it to Mulan, "So that the world will know what you have done for China."

Mulan seemed to break at that point. Trembling, she leapt forward and wrapped her arms around the Emperor's thin form. Startled for but a moment, the Emperor, in return, wrapped his robed arms around her, in return.

Beside Sora, Captain Li muttered, "I suppose you see something new every day..."

"But new isn't always so bad, right?" Sora smiled and put an arm on the Captain's shoulder, who looked at Sora for a short moment before inclining his head in a slight nod.

"Captain..." Captain Li turned to see Mulan standing before him, "Sir, I apologize for deceiving you. I wished only to honor my family and serve China."

Captain Li shifted his body and grunted, "All is forgiven, Pin—I mean, Mulan."

Mulan smiled gratefully and moved past the Captain to Sora. She placed her hands on his shoulders before wrapping them around him in a hug and squeezing him tight. "Thank you, Sora, I owe you so much and so deeply, I can't imagine how I'll repay you."

Sora grinned, ear to ear, and whispered back, "That's what friends do, Mulan! I'm glad you found true honor as yourself, and not pretending to be someone you're not."

Mulan smiled, stepped back, and bowed, to which Sora responded in kind. As Mulan stepped away toward the stairs, Captain Li spoke up once more, quickly and somewhat timidly, "You should...really consider the Emperor's offer of...joining the army."

Mulan looked back over her shoulder at him, smiled once more and replied, "Maybe I will!" before disappearing down the steep steps toward the crowd.  
>The Emperor began to speak again, "The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all."<p>

"Sir?" Captain Li responded, turning.

The Emperor smiled deeply, "You don't meet a girl like that every dynasty, Captain!"

Li looked back to where Mulan had disappeared and allowed his gaze to linger, "No, I suppose you are right, sir..."

"And I understand that you had quite the part to play in all this too, young man?" The Emperor finally addressed Sora.

"Well, uh, sir," Sora began, trying to insert all the correct honorifics, "Sir, it was really Mulan who saved the day, sir, my lord...sir?"

The Emperor chuckled, "Ah, but no flower may sprout without the stem to support it, and no house may stand without a foundation, no matter how it may be hidden from view."

"I, uhh..." Sora trailed off.

"You are certainly an impressive one, young man, I am sure you are the foundation of many." The Emperor beckoned Sora forward into his palace, "Please, even if Fa Mulan must make her way home, I would wish to welcome you, at least, into my hospitality."

Sora nodded, knowing not what else to say. He figured he'd stick around for a bit, ask the Emperor about his friends, grab some food for Donald and Goofy, and head back to the Gummi Ship soon after. He still missed his friends terribly, and this whole adventure had still seemed somewhat empty by himself.

* * *

><p><em>Goodnight! I can barely believe I'm back (alliteration?)! I'm now officially a college graduate, engaged to be married and have a Master's degree ahead of me! Such change! What has happened with you?<br>I firstly wish to apologize for how long this took, I have just simply been so busy I couldn't handle adding another hobby atop it all. Now, I feel as though I may be able to make some progress here, as I still deeply love Kingdom Hearts and the stories that it inspires! Thank you all for reading!_

_I wish to also here explain a little about Donald and Goofy—being that I'm trying to make this story at least somewhat realistic (I know, I know!) I just couldn't sort out a way to have Donald and Goofy, reasonably in this chapter without having a scene of people overreacting to them every other page (which would get awfully repetitive!), let alone how they would reconcile their oddity. Thus, I sadly and tragically had to remove them for most of this chapter, which I would claim works out for the better in making a crisper story, and challenging Sora in different ways (this theme will be worked out more in future worlds that will also, sadly, have to suffer through a lack of the pair, namely Pirates and Agrabah). Thus, this decision was made and I hope it did not cause the story to suffer terribly._

_I do hope all is well with you wonderful, beloved people!  
>~Mars<em>


	9. Winds of Despair

_Hello! I just wanted to take this opportunity to remind everyone that this novelization, and all accompanying future stories, were birthed in the context of only having the first and second games, as well as 358/2 Days, Chain of Memories and future snippets of Birth by Sleep to muse upon. Thus, this and all other stories exists in a canon that knows of Birth by Sleep only as the secret trailer at the end of the Kingdom Hearts 2, way back in the day when all was so mysterious...  
><em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter IX: Winds of Despair<br>**"The greatest hazard of all, losing one's self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all.  
>No other loss can occur so quietly; any other loss - an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc. - is sure to be noticed."<br>~Soren Kierkegaard  
><em>

Sora watched clouds whip by and darken as the Gummi Ship descended onto a new world. After reuniting with Donald and Goofy, he had enjoyed a delicious reunion lunch, filled to the brim with stories and all manner of catching up. Since then, many hours ago, Sora had found himself absently observing the outside world zip by while his mind was pre-occupied with thoughts of the Organization and the small, tattered doll that constantly pulled at his mind. It had been appareled in a simple maroon dress, with black-dot eyes and a sewn smile across its small face; a face which Sora could still see, spatters of blood and all. It had crushed his soul to see that doll left in the snow by the swarms of Heartless...he felt passion rumble through his heart-what made these Organization guys do what they do? They seemed awfully more vicious than he imagined someone without a heart would be—and now, as far as he was concerned, it was his job to stop them, to get in their way, to stand between them and all the innocent people that they were trying to hurt. Sora knew, without a doubt, that was what he was supposed to do.

Suddenly, a dark rampart passsed by his vision, and slowly a connecting tower became visible, which in turn brought a large castle into sight, built out from a forest and over a deep ravine. Sora felt slight chills as a memory of Hollow Bastion clambered its way to the surface of his mind, but this castle was different enough that the comparison was soon banished. The castle had a single, wide bridge, soaring over a chasm, that led to an iron gate, placed in a thick wall that ran along the the castle circumference. In the midst of the wall the castle proper erupted; turrets and citadels stacked further and further up atop each other, culminating in one final tower that stretched far above the castle below.

Sora slid to his feet and shook himself off, all of his prior dark thoughts were as sand being shaken from his hair back home. After all, he couldn't help but smile- he had good luck in the past regarding finding old friends in castles, which encouraged him more in the hope that it would be in this one that Riku was to be found.

* * *

><p>The Keyblade made short-work of the the locks on both the outer and inner gates, and Sora, Donald and Goofy found themselves slowly creaking open the two large doors of the inner keep. As the door slid open, the light of the setting evening sunset pierced into the midst of a great hall, revealing a long room with several side doors circling its edges on both the left and right, until both wall met in an ornate staircase that led up to another large door. The staircase continue past there, though, sprouting out to both the left and right and twisting out of sight. At the bottom of the staircase, a familiar figure, small and clothed in a simple blue dress, looked up at another familiar form, this one, however, large, shadowed and intimidating<p>

"All you've done is stare at this flower! Don't you realize what you've done?" Belle, one of the Princesses of Heart that Sora remembered well from Hollow Bastion, turned away from the other figure and seemed to grip a glass container more securely. "You've locked everyone up! And-"

The other figure, who Sora now recognized as Beast, took several slow steps down the staircase. His tattered purple cloak swirled about his large haunches, which rippled with every step he took. Belle was still speaking while backing up. "-have you—have you closed all the curtains in here? It's late afternoon and no one would ever know it!" she cried out, noticing the hall for what seemed like the first time.

Beast took several more steps forward, now crossing the floor in a much more hurriedly that before, leaning forward as if he were about to move onto all four of his limbs.

"Beast!" Belle suddenly ceased her retreat and stood tall against the oncoming person, even in all his enormity. "Beast, something is dreadfully wrong with you, I can see it! You would never lock your servants up, you would never intimidate me like thi-"

Belle's voice dropped into absolute terrified silence as Beast abruptly opened his mouth, bared his sharp fangs and roared so deeply that it caused the Castle to shake. It was then that Sora knew, too, that something was dreadully wrong.

Running forward, Sora put himself between Belle and the Beast. He saw her doe eyes widen in surprise "Sora...?"

"Beast, what do you think you're doing? Don't you care about Belle?" Sora demanded.

Beast paused for a moment, his dark eyes sizing Sora up and down.

Sora contiued, "If you really care about her, you wouldn't be-"

Before Sora could realize it, Beast lifted a giant claw and with one great swing, slapped Sora aside. He tumbled across the smooth stone floor of the hall and came to a rest against one of the several pillars that upheld the ceiling.

"Sora!" Donald and Goofy both gasped, and rushed over to their friend.

"Beast! How could you?" Belle exclaimed, her eyes turning back to Beast, who seemed utterly unfazed by his sudden assault, his jagged teeth still bared at her. Breathing heavily, he took another step toward Belle and raised his form to its full height and breadth.

Belle stared the Beast down for several moments, her brown eyes desperately searching his. Finally, she slouched and held the glass case out to him, "Fine...you win..."

Beast immediately, but gently, snatched the box from her, turned and trudged back up the stairs, cupping the glass containder close to his chest.

As soon as he was out of view, Belle turned and ran over to Sora, who was only just beginning to sit up under the supervision of Donald and Goofy.  
>"Sora!" she exclaimed, her voice breaking slightly. Sora, even dazed, knew that it wasn't simply because of him. "I'm so sorry, Sora...I don't know what's gotten into him recently...are you alright?"<p>

Sora slowly drew himself to his feet, and smiled at the genuine care he could plainly see in Belle's eyes—the kind of real care that he remembered from all of the Princesses of Heart, especially from those deep oceans that were Kairi's eyes. "I'm—I'm okay, what what happened to Beast?"

"Gee, d'ya think he forgot who we are?" Goofy asked aloud.

"I don't know..." Belle looked away despondently, after pressing her hands against Sora's back and ribs, searching for breaks. "We don't talk like we used to..."

"Did something happen?" Sora asked.

"He's been acting so strange recently...I just found out that he locked all of his servants up in the dungeon!" a look of anger crossed her face, "I was just about to go down there and help them out when he caught me here."

"Why'd he lock 'em up?" Donald asked, his eyes periodically glancing at the staircase to check for Beast's possible return.

"I was hoping that they might know." Belle turned toward one of the side doors of the hall, creaking it open slowly. "I could use your help, you three, if you wouldn't mind coming along."

"Sure! We'd love to help!" Goofy said happily, as the three friends followed Belle through the door and down a winding staircase.

"What is this place anyway, Belle?" Sora asked as he ran his hand along the cold stone walls of the corridor.

"This? This castle is Beast's home." Belle replied.

"It's huge!" Donald marveled.

"And sorta gloomy, don't ya think?" Goofy stepped under a large cobweb, " No wonder the Beast is actin' strange, if this is where he's gotta spend all his time!"

Belle shrugged as they reached the bottom of the stairs, and reached for a lantern that sat beside an oaken door. "It isn't that terrible upstairs-at least, in the East Wing where I live. Beast's rooms in the West Wing, however...I think I would agree with you there, Goofy."

"You live here too, Belle?" Sora asked, "How did you end up here?"

Belle smiled slightly, "That, Sora, is a long story, and we've already reached the dungeon. Would you mind-?" she gestured toward the lock on the door.  
>Sora called the Keyblade into existence with a flick of his wrist. "Of course!"<p>

After another flick with the Keyblade, the lock inside the door clicked and the thick door swung open. Belle held the lantern out into the darkness and called out, "Lumiere? Cogsworth? Mrs. Potts?"

"Madamoiselle!" A thickly accented voice emerged from the darkness, "What a lovely thing it is to hear your beautiful voice!"

"Madame, we all here, present and accounted for." Another voice, this one nasally and proper, spoke up.

Belle smiled, "Wonderful! I'm coming in with some friends!" she gestured at Sora, Donald and Goofy to follow her into the room, in which she had already placed the lantern on a small hook, allowing the room to be fully illuminated.

Sora was at immediately confused—there didn't appear to be anyone in the dungeon. Chains hung against the far walls, straw was spread about the floor, and the odd candlebra, mantle clock and tea set was scattered across the room, along with other assorted household items. What kind of dungeon was this?

"Everyone," Belle introduced to the empty room, "This is Sora, Donald and Goofy!"

"Wonderful to make your aquantance, monsieurs! I am called Lumiere." the thick accent warmly greeted. Sora swept the room with his gaze; there was certainly no one else in the room...

"A pleasure, I'm sure. I am Cogsworth." The nasally voice spoke disinterestedly.

"Hi! I'm Chip!" a high and lively voice greeted, while a more motherly voice added similar greetings and identified herself as " Mrs Potts". Suddenly, Sora was confronted with a cacophony of greetings and salutations, all directed toward he and his friends.

Goofy leaned closer to Sora and Donald, "Fellas, I think the furniture might be a'talkin to us..."

"What!" Donald cried, as he waddled forward to inspect the small clock with more interest.

"Excuse me, sir, I resent your intrusion upon my person!" the voice that had identified itself as Cogsworth spoke, indigant.

"Wah! The clock is talking!" Donald cried, stepping back.

The accented Lumiere spoke quickly, "And you, good sir, are a talking animal-is there really much difference?"

Donald paused for a moment, shrugged and stepped back beside Sora and Goofy, still eying the clockpiece suspiciously. As Sora's eyes finished adjusting to the dim light, sure enough, he began to recognize faces—eyes, noses, and mouths—on all of the items that filled the dungeon, each looking at him expectedly, Belle included.

"It's...great to meet you all!" He finally replied.

"I do say, you three seem to be taking this almost as well as dear Belle did!" Mrs. Potts, an ornate white teapot, hopped forward on her base.

"It seems so long ago..." Lumiere, who Sora could now see was the golden candlbra. His two outer sticks, acting as arms, wrapped themselves around a dark featherduster who had pressed herself close to him as if looking for comfort.

"Come now, Lumiere, we don't need to tell the story everytime someone wanders by!" Cogsworth, the clock, tapped one of his "legs", actually one of the legs of his base.

"It's alright, Cogsworth," Belle replied, "They should hear it, don't you think?"

"Certainly, Madame," Cogsworth stiffly replied, "I was simply concerned for you, as you have heard this story so very many times."]

Belle shooed him off with a kind wave, and gestured for Lumiere, who had been waiting patiently, to start. As he opened his mouth to begin, though, Mrs. Potts began instead, "It was a cold winter's night...an old beggar woman came to the castle and, and asked for shelter."

Lumiere quickly butted in, "You see, we were not always in such desperate straights, good monsieurs, even the Master was once human, as were all of we."

"The Master?" Donald interrupted, "you mean the Beast?"

"In those days, he was a Prince." Cogsworth responded curtly, the arms of the clockface that sat before his face spun in such a way that seemed to indicate annoyance, "Now, if you don't mind...the Master turned the old woman away, simply and unfortunately because of her, ah...meager appearance."

"That's awful mean!" Goofy interjected.

Lumiere nodded sadly. "The old woman warned our master not to be deceived by appearances...but still, he would not take her in."

"It was then that the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress." Cogsworth continued.

"She turned the Prince into a Beast; a shape she thought fitting for his cold heart." Mrs. Potts spoke with regret and sadness, as she looked down beside her at a small tea cup, Sora guessed "Chip", that returned her gaze adoringly, "And to further punish him, she enchanted everyone else in the castle, as well."

"That seems unfair!" Sora broke in.

"Ah, it certainly may seem so," Lumiere responded, "But had the Master responded differently, and the enchantress had blessed the entire Castle instead, would it be called unfair if we had come under that blessing, as well?"

Sora paused, considering this.

"Those in authority, such as the Master, can provide great good to those under them when their power is used well," Cogworths continued, "But when used poorly, the same power may be corrupted and cause equal harm to those in lesser position."

"Oui," Lumiere confirmed, as Sora nodded in acceptance of their response, "He was a spoiled Prince, the Master...so selfish and, how shall I say...cruel."  
>"Lumiere!" Cogsworth chided, the former only responding with a shrug.<p>

"It is the truth, Cogsworth."

"Gawrsh, and so that's how y'all ended up the way you are?" Goofy asked, and was responded to by a chorus of nodding affirmations.

"What can we do to help?" Sora asked, concerned.

Donald brandished his wand, "Let's get that enchantress!"

Belle shook her head sadly, "No...that won't work."

Lumiere hopped toward the door of the dungeon, "We know what must be done, but with the Master out of sorts as of late..."

Mrs. Potts followed Lumiere. "It's almost as if he's forgotten how to trust others..."

"All the progress of the last year up in smoke..." Cogsworth mumbled, as he, too, headed toward the door, the rest of the household in tow.

"Y'don't think..." Goofy stroked his chin, "that Beast coulda becomea Heartless, do ya?"

Belle gasped at the idea. "I—I hadn't considered it. I don't think so, though...there _has_ been a growing darkness in him, I've been able to sense that much...but I..." she paused and reached for the lantern, the shifting light bouncing off of her face, now appearing intense. "I know, for sure, that the real Beast is still in there."

Sora trusted Belle's feelings, since he figured she would know best as to how powerful the darkness in Beast was since she knew him so well. "It sounds like it's about time we go find Beast!"

"Splendid!" Cogsworth turned back, "We were thinking precisely the same thing. Everyone!" he looked back at the rest of his fellow cursed servants, "Please, return to your normal stations. Lumiere and I shall accompany our guests to..." he gulped, exuberance turning to fear, "find the Master!"

* * *

><p>The West Wing of the castle certainly lived up to Belle's description of it. Tapestries hung torn in half on the clawed and cleavan stone walls, ocassionaly draping over a statue that likely, at one time, resembled something recognizable instead of the column of twisted rock that it now existed as. Stairways were slowly crumbling into rubble, and broken glass littered the ground from where windows had been smashed, and through which no illumination was given from the newly-minted night.<p>

"I feel I must apologize for the state of the Wing," Cogsworth stated dolefully, "The Master never allows any of the servants to fix this...ghastly state of affairs."

Belle sighed as she stepped over the long tower of a gargoyle that lay cracked and strewn across the floor of the hall. "I wish he would allow it...living like this can do him no good."

Sora watched as Belle admirably stood a tumbled candlestick back onto its base, nodding satisfactorally to herself, and wondered what it was like for her to live in such a place—she must care an awful lot about the Beast in order to stay here.

"We are almost to the Master's bedroom." Cogsworth intoned, "It it simply another hallway away."

"How can one place have so many hallways..." Donald mumbled.

"Aw, c'mon, Donald! It kinda reminds me of home!" Goofy responded cheerfully.

Donald snorted, "This messy ole' place reminds you of Disney Castle? C'mon, Goofy..."  
>The scraping sound of moving rock interrupted Goofy's response. The group turned to look behind them and Sora immediatley readied the Keyblade.<br>"Heartless!" Goofy yelled, and reached for the shield strapped to his back.

With movement to quick for the eye to fully note, a dark form slid over the entirety of the collapsed gargoyle, which then slowly rose from the ground and up to a full height like a vampire rising stiffly from its coffin. The stone itself, now rippling with darkness, flexed its arms and raised its sword—only to be obliterated into pebbles by a pre-emptive Fire spell cast by Donald.

"Gotcha!" the duck mage blew the smoke off the tip of his wand proudly.

"Monsieur," Lumiere pointed from behind Sora, "I do not believe the creature is vanquished!"

Sure enough, floating in the place of the gargoyle was a seemingly edgelesss sphere of darkness, the only tell-tale sign of its center being its two glowing yellow eyes. Without much more pause, the dark Heartless shifted into the form of the nearby tattered curtains, which previously had hung uselessly around a cracked window, but now instead formed long bony fingers of shredded cloth that wrapped themselves around Goofy's arm. Sora dove forward, quickly slashing at the curtain, as Donald cast another fire spell that caught it in a whoosh of flame that burned itself out against the stone wall. Behind the curtain, the glass window—now, too turned a dark hue—shattered itself and sent sharp prongs of glass flying across the hallway. Goofy snatched at Belle, putting his shield between they and the glass, while Sora used the Keyblade to expertly deflect any of the shards that flew toward he and Donald. With the glass expired, the walls themselves seeped with darkness and tossed chunks of loose stone at Sora.

"Toward the Master's room! Quickly!" Cogworths barked out, leading the way further down the hall. Sora charged after, bringing up the rear of the group. Using the Keyblade, he continued to deflect and redirect the chunks of stone that was being thrown at them, seemingly by the Castle itself. Occasionally, though, he'd catch a glimpse of the two yellow eyes, following along the ground or walls determinedly after them.

Within seconds, Cogsworth had slowed the group down and pointed them towards a particular large door that lay in the middle of the hall.  
>"Quick!" Sora pushed everyone toward the door, "It's gaining on us!"<p>

Donald began to bang wildy on the door that, apparently, did not easily open. "Help us! Open up!"

Sora began to cast several weak spells, meant mainly to keep the Heartless at bay and unable to approach. Some spells were successful, others resulted in more damage to the West Wing, damage which would likely go unnoticed anyway.

Suddenly, the door creaked and, instead of being opened, was lifted off its hinges and tossed to the side. From inside the dark room, the intimidating form of the Beast glared out through slanted eyes. Donald jumped back in surpised, as Belle ran forward.

"Beast! Help! We're being followed!" she grabbed his arm, as she gestured down the hall.

Slowly, Beast turned his head, almost disinterestedly, until his eyes caught sight of the approaching darkness. At that, he stepped out through the doorway, which now looked awfully small in comparison to his enormous bulk. Pushing Sora roughly to the side, Beast dashed, twisted horns lowered, toward the Heartless's eyes, which were now creeping along the wall. When he was close enough, Beast reached out his enormous paws and seemed to grab hold of the darkness itself. With a great roar, Beast ripped the Heartless from the wall and tossed its dark, globular form, through an adjacent window. The Heartless' darkness melded with the black outside and disappeared.

"Well done, Master-!" Cogsworth began, before immediately dropping into silence when the Beast peered back at them and snarled. Sora readied his Keyblade in case, but followed the Beast's gaze past him and into the room beyond. That room was utterly and completely dark, except for the shape of the glass container that Beast had taken from Belle earlier, which was illuminated by a single spot of early moonlight. Inside, Sora could see single bright-red rose.

"As I told you, Beast, it is time to deal with Belle—is not now the perfect occasion? Is it not utterly clear to you, yet?" a voice, heavy, but quiet and confident, emerged from the dark room. "This heartless, the incident earlier—are these not all evidences that I am right? That Belle is scheming to take all that you have? Your castle...your precious rose...your very life..."

"What? What're you talking about!?" Belle yelled back into the darkness.

The voice ignored her, but seemed to come closer. "Stay back!" Sora warned.

"Your anger, Beast, is the only thing that will protect you from such...aggression." closer the voice came.

"I've..." came Beast's rumbling voice. Sora turned to see him standing, straighter and taller than he had yet seen him. A look of torture contorted his face, twist."I've...had enough of anger...the only thing I want..."

"What?" the voice seemed to scoff, and Sora watched as a black coated figure finally appeared in the doorway. Drawn up hood, long coat, silver drawstrings—Organization XIII. "To love and be loved in return? Recall when we met all those months ago, Beast...we've learned together that what you want is impossible—Who could love a Beast?"

The voice seemed to smile, his large form filling the doorway almost as much as Beast's had, as a mournful roar that shook the West Wing.  
>"Stop! What lies have you been telling him!?" Belle demanded, charging toward that figure in black.<p>

"See? Even now she stops me from telling you the truth—her and her accomplices." the Organization member said as he easily disappeared into the darkness, leaving Belle to stumble through where he had been standing.

Sora gritted his teeth—of course they would be involved here, too! What they wanted with the Beast, though, he didn't know. No surprise there, of course.  
>"Beast!" Sora spoke up angrily, "Are you really gonna listen to this bozo?"<p>

Beast, who had been looking away from the group, slowly turned, a rage growing in his eyes. He roared again, this one in anger, and charged toward Sora, who—for the third time in the last hour—was tossed aside by Beast's trunk-like arms. Goofy charged forward and succeeded in using his shield to redirect the Beast's charge; forcing him to crash into the wall. Donald dove for Sora, upon whom he called a cure spell, bringing the Keyblade wielder back to his feet.

"Master! Compose yourself!" Cogsworth wound himself up and seemed to cause a sharp and piercing chime that caused the Beast pause, if only to shake his head clear.

"Beast! Please stop!" Belle ran forward, and stepped in between the Beast's rising form and Sora, Donald and Goofy.

Beast eyed her, panting, one massive paw grasping at his arm. Hands held out, palms open, Belle approached Beast. "It's okay, Beast...it's okay..." she reached for the limp arm, her small hands dwarfed by the size of the Beast. Slowly, green healing magic seeped from her fingertips and wrapped around Beast's arm. He soon released it, his eyes clearing as he stared at Belle.

"I...I..." Beast stumbled over his words, before snapping his eyes away from Belle and toward his two servants. "Cogsworth! What happened?" he brusquesly asked, missing how Belle's face fell.

"Well, Master...ah...you see...that is..." Cogsworth hemmed and hawwed, "ah...actually...mmmm..."

"Well, for starts-" Donald waved his wand furiously, "You locked everyone down in that dungeon!"

"But I bet you were just trying to protect 'em, right?" Goofy smiled, quickly putting away his shield. "You just didn't want to hurt 'em!"

"Did I...do...that?" Beast spoke slowly.

"I...I'm..." Beast paused as he looked back at the dimunitive girl with brown hair who glared back up at him. "Belle, I'm...I wasn't myself..."

Tears welled up in Belle's eyes as she turned away and wandered back down the hall. "I just...I wish it were more easy to tell the difference!"

Beast watched sorrowfully as she disappeared down the hall. Goofy shook his head, "Gawrsh, I guess all the emotions she's been holding back finally got to her..."

Sora could only imagine what she felt like, his heart burning with her pain as he watched her walk away.

"Belle..." Beast mumbled, looking away. "I've mistreated her...I've mistrated her and been so selfish..."

"Well, she never said anything about that." Sora weakly offered, turning back to face him.

Beast shook his great head. "She'd never tell anyone of my cruelty...she's too good."

"He judges himself far too harshly..." Cogsworth whispered under his breath to Sora.

"Well, why don't you go after her and talk!" Sora finally disappated the Keyblade and stepped forward.

Beast looked back toward the darknened room and the rose in the glass case. "But..."

"No excuses!" Sora grinned encouragingly. "We'll go with you!"

Beast nodded slowly, and took a step forward to join Sora. "I...apologize, Sora. I did not recognize you, nor welcome you to my home. This place...I myself...would not exist were it not for you."

Sora laughed, "I could say the same thing! You were there for me when I thought I was all alone." Sora's eyes disappeared into his smile; it was good to see the Beast again, truly, as himself.

Beast appeared confused, seemingly unbelieving that such a thing could be possible. "I recall these friends of yours, but only briefly."

"Well," Sora gestured toward the two Disney knights as they all started down the hall, Beast taking the lead, "This is Donald and this is Goofy!"  
>Donald nodded suspiciously, as Goofy replied with a friendly wave. Beast nodded in return.<p>

"Beast, who was that guy with you?" Sora asked.

Beast again looked confused, before recognition and anger appeared on his face. His giant claws clenched into a fist. "Xaldin! That's his name..." in anger, Beast slammed through the first set of doors that stood in their path. "He brought so much darkness with him; he told me things, showed me things...he turned my pain, my sorrow...all into rage."

Sora nodded, "He's a member of Organization XIII—they're good at that kind of stuff."

Beast appeared disinterested, and didn't ask for more information. "It is irrelevant to me where he comes from; I will destroy him the next time we meet."

"It doesn't seem like we've run into this Organization guy before." Goofy noted.

"Actually..." Sora responded thoughtfully, "I've been thinking about it, and his voice—kinda reminds me of the guy who defeated that giant Heartless back in Agrabah."

"Wah!" Donald exclaimed, "You think that's the same guy!"

"Now that ya mention it," Goofy stroked his chin, "They did sound a lot like each other!"

"But why would he help us then and now be trying to hurt the Beast?" Donald wondered aloud.

Sora shrugged. That was the mystery—why was it that the Organization sometimes saved him and other times used the Heartless to hurt the people around him?  
>As Beast entered the East Wing, he paused, observing the servants—brooms, dustpans, and more—all slowing their movements to watch him. Cogsworth spoke up, "Sir, the servants would like me to communicate to you that they hold no ill will for the past...improprieties."<p>

Nodding, he continued forward and paused before a tall door. Sora figured that, due to the Beast's hesitation, this was where Belle was, and so he added his nod of encouragement to those of Cogsworth and Lumiere.

Beast took in a deep breath and slowly cracked the door open. Sora followed him in, and found himself in awe of a library that Kairi would've fallen in love with. Bookshelves, stuffed with tomes of all sizes and shapes, ran up to the vaulting ceiling above. Ladders crisscrossed the shelves, and spacious balconies gave room to even more shelving far above. Belle herself sat in a spacious leather chair, beside a desk stacked with piles and piles of books. One she held in her hands, flipping through it furiously.

"Belle...I..." Beast began softly.

A book on the balcony above suddenly slammed closed. "I see my advice has gone unheeded." Xaldin spoke from underneath his hooded cloak. "Beast, my old friend, what happened?"

"Maybe he doesn't want your advice!" Donald yelled up, brandishing his wand.

Sora pointed the Keyblade toward Xaldin. "That's right! Maybe Beast just doesn't want you around anymore!"

Sora began to move, but was held back by a thick and furred arm. Beast, looking back at Belle, shook his head.

Sora looked between the two and nodded, although he was confused as to what Beast meant.

"Ah! You forcefully remove me from your own living space, yet refuse to even face me here, in this room." Xaldin raised a gloved arm, "If this place is special to you, Beast, I'm afraid I must take it, as well."

"No! Xaldin!" Beast roared, as the sphere of darkness crashed through one of the upper windows of the library. The Heartless' yellow eyes glanced about hungrily, as it sped toward one of the balconies. Beast roared, "Not here!" And swiped a great paw at the floating darkness. Catching it by it's solidified edge, quite visible in the lamp-lit room, Beast pulled it down from the air and tossed it, crashing, through the door of the room. Without a second's hesitation, and ignoring Belle's cries after him, Beast charged behind it.

Moving after him, Sora watched Beast toss the Heartless creature further and further down the hall, now with no regard for the damaged walls or cracked doors. Servants scattered to get out of the way, as the Heartless cloud attempted to possess any object it could, from which Beast continually ripped it out of and beat it back and forth.

"Cogsworth! Lumiere!" Belle called, "You two should take care of getting everyone to someplace safe!"

"Cogsworth, the kitchen!" Lumiere exclaimed, hopping off to begin gathering the rest of the servants. "Consider it done, Madamoiselle!"

After taking one last look into the library, and noticing that Xaldin had disappeared, Sora, Donald and Goofy dashed off after Beast, who had already beaten the Heartless into the stairwell that led back into the entrance hall. Sora watched as Beast ripped studs off of the stair railings and used them, too, to bash the Heartless further and further, all its attempts to take any sort of form utterly feeble in the face of Beast's rage.

As Sora started toward Beast, he couldn't help but ask, "Belle, why didn't Beast want anything to happen in the library?"

A soft, tender look passed over Belle's face, her eyes warming. "It was a gift from him...he gave it to me when I first arrived here."

Sora nodded, and returned a small smile at the round-about way the Beast had of caring. Wouldn't it be easier if he just said it?

"You will never threaten my home!" Beast roared at the bottom of the stairwell, as he lifted the Heartless up once again and tossed it through the enormous doors that lay where the stairs to each Wing met. Of course, he dashed in after it.

"He just doens't give up..." Donald mumbled.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Sora paused to take in the new room that had been so violently revealed. Significantly larger than any of the other rooms he had seen, a great ballroom stretched out before him. For the moment, grand was an understatement: A white, meticulously shined floor glistened all the way to a wall of windows, which easily stretched ten times Sora's height and looked out over a marble terrace. Great white pillars upheld a balcony that wound its way around the ballroom, each angle and wall lit up by a combination of moonlight and a hundred small, twinkling lights from a golden chandelier that hung above it all. The shadowy Heartless lay twitching in the center of the room, its darkness slowly melting off of it, while Beast stood opposite; hunched over and panting heavily.

Suddenly, a blast of shadow engulfed the room, centered below the glistening chandelier. The glass doors that led out to the balcony blew open with a shattering crash and a great gust of wind blew through the ballroom. Sora and the group entered cautiously, shielding their eyes from the vortex that seemed to have formed before them. Wind blew and twisted in all directions, blowing about hair, cloaks and dresses, while Beast remained the only unperturbed one. Suddenly, in the midst of it all, the cloaked figure of Xaldin became apparent. The wind beat around his cloak outstretched arms, and tugged at the edges of his hood. With one great gust, the hood loosened and fell upon his back, revealing long black dreadlocks that whipped wildly in the wind. A glistening, wide smile appeared on Xaldin's square face, which was edged by thick eyebrows that arched above dark eyes of indeterminate color, which in turn squinted above stygian sideburns that each came to a point almost as far as his nose.

Another great gale of wind overtook the ballroom, and darkness began to rush in from all of its edges, seemingly pulled from every nook of the castle. The shadows slid across the floor and began to surround the twitching Heartless. Sora quickly took aim with the Keyblade and hurled it at Xaldin, but the winds about him were too great and the Keyblade was dismissively thrown to the side, reappearing in Sora's hand before it struck the ground. The same deflection occurred with any smell Donald tried to cast.

Finally, so much darkness had surrounded the Heartless that its eyes had grown to the size of Beast's head, and its body took up nearly a third of the entire room. Long and twisted stalks emerged from its spherical body, and with a snap from Xaldin, the wind began to circle the Heartless and form great chains that hung dangling from its form. Simultaneously as the wind calmed, Xaldin vanished into darkness, and the Heartless possessor dropped into the floor below. From that single point, darkness exploded out across the floor and up the walls, everywhere except in a small semicircle only where Belle stood-there, the darkness parted around her like a river forking in two. In opposite, the tall glass windows turned utterly black, blocking out the night sky, and two yellow eyes blinked to life amidst the glass, the chains following by criss-crossing around them. The possessor Heartless, now controlling the entire room, twisted and turned inside the windows, it's ravenous eyes searching its contents.

At a yelp of surprise from Goofy, Sora turned to see the pillars of the upper-balcony, now turned into writhing and grasping, tentacles, reach out for the one un-possessed area of light that Belle currently resided in. Donald and Goofy busied themselve fighting back the tentacles, while Sora raced forward to slash at two that had twisted their way particularly close. After cutting one in half, Sora dove for the second, but it adeptly manuevered itself out of the way, extending and twisting around Sora, still reaching for Belle. As it got closer, Belle took several stumbled steps back, only to have Beast leap forward and rip the entire long arm from its place, leaving it to writhe and dissolve into darkness.

"Look Sora!" Goofy pointed toward Belle's feet as he bashed back another approaching tentacle.

As Sora followed the gesture he noticed that, in the places where Belle had stepped, the darkness had scattered from under her feet. "Belle! You think you could get closer to that Heartless?" Sora asked, gesturing to what Goofy had noticed.

Belle, realizing what Sora meant, nodded, "Of course!"

"What?" Beast roared, "You need to leave, now! I forbid you to get any closer!"

Belle shook her head thoroughly, "I can't leave you all here, not when I can help!" and with that, Belle sprinted forward, toward the glass wall that contained the unblinking eyes of the Heartless. Sora, somewhat startled at her ferocity, started after her.

"Above you!" Beast roared out. Sora looked up just in time to see the giant chandelier, now dripping in darkness and burning with raging red fires, slipping down from the ceiling on what seemed to be another squirming tentacle. Before he could even think to move, Beast had already swept both he and Belle up in his large, furred arms and carried them forward, even closer toward the Heartles. Behind them, the chandelier crashed to the ground and began to retract back up to the ceiling, to which Donald fired sevealv bursts of ice at its tip to freeze the retraction and force it to remain halfway between the floor and ceiling.

As they got near to the window, Sora tumbled from Beast's hold in order to dodge another tentacle that flailed out at them. Beast again pulled it from its moorings as he deposited Belle at the foot of the window, below the perfectly dark, two dimensional image of the possessor Heartless, its eyes now twitching downward toward them. Belle reached out a small hand and touched the dark glass, and immediately the Heartless began to convulse. Light slowly spread out from Belle's hand, returning the glass to its normal transparency, but it seemed to be in a near-even struggle with the darkness that pushed in at all sides. Beast reached forward and pulled at the darkness, as he had before, but the Heartless seemed barely to notice him. Sora knew they had to get it out of the window somehow; they had to release it...

Just as Sora began to lift the Keyblade toward the window, hoping that it might help, a thrashing tentacle swept him off his feet and tossed him into the air toward the chandelier that swayed and twisted against the ice that held it back. Just as Sora was about to crash into it's sharp and jagged points, time seemed to slow, and redness edged around his vision. He suddenly felt the familiar form of the Kingdom Key, its gold and silver glistening, in his left hand.

_Valor Form_

And, all at once, time jumped from slow to fast. In the necessary milli-seconds, Sora's finger slipped through the hilt of the Kingdom Key and grasped onto one of the curved arms of the chandelier. The force of his movement pulled the great dark piece of decoration with him, snapping its trappings to the ice spells, as he, without thought, smoothly redirected his momentum to force the chandelier to spin, allowing him to toss himself back towards the Heartless. Sora flew at the Heartless through the air, twisting, and pointed the Kingdom Key towards the window. With an unlocking twist, a beam of light shot from the tip of the blade and fired directly between the ravenous eyes of the Heartless. This beam caused the light from Belle's hand to expand explosively, allowing it gain ground over most of the Heartless. As he flew closer, mind and body racing, Sora spun the Kingdom Key behind him and pointed the polished and ornate white of his Oathkeeper blade at the monstrosity. He performed a second unlocking motion, but this time he tightly pulled the Keyblade back behind his head as though he were pulling in a large fish. The Heartless rumbled, and it's enormous form was sucked from the windows and back out into the open.

As Sora flew towards the now three-dimensional Heartless, he quickly adjusted his spin and, with his Keyblades out straight at his sides formed a flying saw blade that carved through the top of the Heartless. As his toes touched the ground, the drive form dissolved, the Kingdom Key disappeared, and Sora looked back to see Beast, the Heartless' chains in each of his large paws, roaring and ripping it apart by its own trappings. As the pieces of the Heartlesss collapsed into darkness, a single rounded heart shape, red in hue, floated up from where the Heartless had vanished and followed suite.  
>"We did it!" Sora exclaimed.<p>

"So you think..." Xaldin's deep voice whispered.

Sora looked back to see the cloaked man, standing at the entrance to the ballroom with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Xaldin!" Beast roared and charged, diving for Xaldin's composed form. Seconds before Beast's extended claws could rip the man to shreds, Xaldin vanished into darkness, but his voice, seemingly carried by the wind through the shattered balcony doors, still whispered: "Remember, love never lasts—it is but a temporary illusion, a comforting balm for the ill-constituted." the whisper began to lessen, dropping ever and ever more into silence, "Just like your rose, Beast...it will continue to fall, and...I...will...return..."

Beast pounded the floor where Xaldin had stood, "What does he want here?!"

Goofy marveled as the ballroom slowly returned to its previous state, with no sign of a struggle aside from the shattered glass doors swinging open and closed with the wind. "Maybe he wanted to make ya into a Heartless!"

"'Cause then they could get your Nobody and control it!" Donald added.

Beast didn't ask for extrapolation to their musings, but instead raised his eyes over Sora to fall on Belle, who was looking back at him. Beast quickly looked away, shifting his gaze to Sora.

"Sora," he rumbled, low and heavy, "Is there anything I can do for you and your friends?"

"Well...you could start by not tossing me against another wall!" Sora smiled, rubbing the back of the neck where he could still feel some residual stiffness.  
>Beast nodded, not seeming to appreciate the humor.<p>

"Well, ah," Sora started, "I guess...do you remember that silver-haired guy back at Hollow Bastion? You...wouldn't happen to know anything about where he is, would you?"

Beast shook his head slowly, "No, I would remember if I saw that impudent child again. He is one I would toss against a wall, happily." he bit out.

Sora winced, "He's different now."

"Is that all you are going to ask for?" Belle asked kindly, as she walked over to stand next to Beast-who subtly shifted away from her.

"Well, I guess I don't really need anything else!" Sora replied.

Donald coughed, "Actually Sora...we could use some food."

Sora snapped his fingers in agreement, "Yeah! That! If you don't mind, Beast..."

"We would certainly love to accommodate our guests!" Lumiere suddenly appeared in the entrace to the ballroom, followed by Cogsworth and Mrs. Potts.

"Oh my dear lord!" Cogsworth exclaimed upon sighting the damaged windows on the far side of the ballroom. "Those have not been replaced in centuries!"

"Cogsworth!" Lumiere scolded, "How can you think about such things at time like this!" the animated candlebra hopped beside Sora, Donald and Goofy and smoothly ushered them out of the room. "Come, come—our chefs will create the finest culinary masterpiece that you, monsieurs, have ever had the pleasure of tasting!"

As they shuffled past Beast and Belle, Sora heard him mumble, not yet looking at her, "Belle...I'm...I'm sorry. I wasn't...myself. I...hope I haven't...hurt you..."  
>Sora watched a kind look emerge in Belle's eyes as she took Beast's large and furry cheek in her small hand, "I know you weren't yourself, Beast, I forgive you."<p>

As they passed through the doors, Sora heard Belle continue, "But...I had hoped that you might have changed a little bit...I wish you could start trusting me..." she continued, until her and Beast both passed out of earshot and Sora heard, instead, a sigh from Lumiere.

"Oh, I am afraid that time is running short."

"What do you mean?" Sora asked, as he was guided toward the kitchen by the friendly servants.

"Do you remember the rose?" Lumiere questioned.

Donald quacked, "The one from Beast's room?"

"Precisely the one," Cogsworth answered, rubbing his wooden face anxiously, "You see, if the Master can learn to love, and earn love in return before the last petal falls-"

"The spell will be broken!" Lumiere interjected.

Sora glanced back over his shoulder to see Beast and Belle conversing quietly. "You think he's gonna make it?"

"We think so!" answered cheerfully.

"We -hope- so." corrected Cogsworth, before moving on ahead to ensure the dinner was on schedule.

As promised, the meal was superb in quality and unsurpassable in taste, and Sora enjoyed the bedazzling tales that Lumiere would tell, as well as the many ways in which Cogsworth would precisely correct the details of each one while the smiling face of Belle, reminding him so much of Kairi, enjoyed it all. The beds of the East Wing, too, surpassed those of the Gummi Ship by leaps and bounds and allowed Sora much peace as he drifted off, his thoughts and feelings a mix of, firstly, unspeakable happiness due to the proximity of all his friends, particularly Donald and Goofy snoring nearby (a sound which, he was surprised to say, he had missed during his time spent with Mulan). Secondly, his thoughts and emotions were filled with deep longing; the missing of his two dearest friends who were so far away, and, thirdly, he was consumed by the dark curiosity of finally knowing a name and a face from the Organization—Xaldin.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Nam', y'want some?" Axel offered a long frankfurter, overflowing with relish and mustard, to the petite girl next to him.<p>

Naminé raised an eyebrow as she examined the dripping monster, "Axel, you do know that we don't need to eat, right?"

Axel shrugged. "Whatever! More for me!" and swallowed the long dog in one gulp. He'd probably eaten more at this carnival than she herself weighed. Content that Naminé simply never ate, Axel downed another frankfurter and chased it down with a long slurp of soda.

"Soooo," he said, through another mouthful. "Why'd you need to recombine Roxas anyway? What was the old man's plan there?"

Naminé glanced away, eyeing the ferris wheel that dominated the skyline. "We couldn't bring Sora out of his sleep until Roxas was at least...a part of him, if not a unified whole."

"So whaddaya think Sora was before all that mumbo-jumbo?"

"Incomplete." Naminé whispered, gripping her pencils and papers tight. "The light of...the girl kept his Heart in his own form." she paused, thoughtfully. "That's probably why Oblivion went so...as it did."

"That's pretty groovy, Nam'." Axel tossed his drink in the direction of the trash, grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her forward through the crowd. "So I just wanna let you in on the plan: I want to make Sora a Heartless."

Naminé gasped, and he could feel her pull back on him, but her slight form couldn't generate the necessary resistance to even slow his step.  
>"You—you can't! He's finally whole again, he's happy! They're both—please, Axel!" Naminé pleaded.<p>

Axel shook his head, "Sorry, Nam', it's really my only option—the big picture, y'know?"

Naminé bit her lip, and held her artbook just a little closer. "What will _he_ think of that?"

Axel paused, "I don't really know, and I certainly don't care. I'm not with _them_ anymore." he jerked his thumb at himself, "This is offically now a one man show, got it memorized?"

As he released it, Naminé's arm slowly drifted to her side. Her face was downcast; her eyes sunken.

"Oh, sorry, Nam'!" Axel pinched her cheek, "One man, one girl show! My bad! Now-" she didn't perk up, and he didn't really care—no heart, after all- "why don't you show me how well you've gotten those darkness portals down?"

It was then that Axel felt an odd feeling in the region of his stomach. The frankfurters probably were too raw, he figured. Of course the idiots didn't put enough fire to them.

* * *

><p><em>There we go! Have a great day, everyone!<br>~Mars__  
><em>


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